A Complete Family, Incomplete
by Rinne-Kami
Summary: Naruto had everything he could possibly want, two loving parents and a younger twin sister, until he stumbled upon a dark secret, an older brother lost. Will Naruto attempt to find his long lost sibling, or will his big brother come looking for him.
1. Prologue: Events Leading

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...

**A/N:** Sup. So this is one of the ideas I had for a story, well technically it's not my idea because it's been seen on this site long before I decided to write this story, but anyway I getting off track, this is inspired by one of Thanathos' stories; **God of Illusion, Host of the Devil's Arm **(amazing story by the way go check it out) so there may be some eerie similarities between the his work and mine but nothing major, so I promise I won't go directly down the same route as him, he's got his work and I've got mine, alas I am rambling so lets get straight on with this then shall we :).

"Speak"

_'Thoughts'_

CURTAINS UP!

* * *

A tired sigh echoed through the room as one Minato Namikaze sat at his desk, in this circular room, facing an opponent that just wouldn't accept defeat, no matter how many times he wore his opponent down they came back stronger than ever.

_'There has to be an easier way to deal with this paperwork'_ Thought the 25-year-old Minato as he begrudgingly continued with his work.**(1)**

_'Maybe... Another break before I finish that last pile'_ he once again thought, as he turned in his chair to gaze over his village, Konohagakure no Sato, where for over a year he sat as Yondaime Hokage, attaining the position in recognition by the Sandaime Hokage for his battle prowess as Konoha's Yellow Flash, effectively winning the Third Great Shinobi War in Konoha's favor. Also for his strong belief in the will of fire and desire to protect is comrades and for his way with the people of Konoha. The Sandaime had told him that he was exactly the leader Konoha needed in every aspect; young, strong, intelligent, kind and above all, a family man. Nearly five years ago Minato's first son, Teihaku**(2)** was born thanks to his wife Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, who has endured nine of the ten months a Jinchuuriki's pregnancy lasts, again.

"Truly she has the endurance of a demon" Minato whispered to no one.

"Yeah, she does" proclaimed a new, instantly recognizable voice.

"Sensei!" Minato happily exclaimed as he got up to hug the man, he had been like a father figure to him. "When did you get back?"

"About 4 hours ago, however I got... Preoccupied on a matter of essential business" Jiraiya said as his eyes lecherously moved to the direction of the female bath house.

Minato, noticing his sensei's eyes move, chuckled instantly at his sensei's "essential business", apparently his numerous beatings at the hands of Tsunade had taught him nothing. "Oh, sensei!" Minato reminded himself "Come round the house later. Kushina and I have something we need to talk to you about together".

"Okay sure" Jiraiya responded, his attention still on the bath house, his mind itself bathing in the fond memories of the things that had transpired down there. "Where is Kushina by the way, haven't seen her in a while".

"She's at one of her womens meetings" Minato replied, momentarily forgetting who he was talking to.

"WOMENS MEETINGS!" Jiraiya exclaimed, suddenly very happy and interested at where the conversation was headed. "Tell me more!"

"It's nothing really sensei, they just get together and talk about pregnancy stuff and babies and how their new motherly instincts cause them to lash out and pummel anyone who they deem untrustworthy around their children" Minato spoke nonchalantly ending with a smirk. _'That ought to scare sensei off that path'_ he thought.

"Uh..Yes" Jiraiya cringed, listening to Minato's subliminal warning, effectively being scared of that path, dealing with Tsunade was one thing, but to unleash a mother's rage he'd rather not do. "Let's go for a walk Minato, we have a lot to catch up on eh, besides this room suddenly feels smaller".

-**Break**-

Kakashi's sole visible facial feature twitched._'Why did sensei order me to guard these meetings'_ he thoughts as watched the of women chattering at, from a males point of view, a incoherent rate. Every time they had these meetings Kakashi pondered why he was there. 'Premature Labour' he would often tell himself. To be able to inform husbands and get soon-to-be-mommy to the hospital as quick as possible. But after awhile babies were born and now only one member of the group was still pregnant. And that's when a grim realization dawned upon him, that the true reason he was here was to be... A diaper fetcher, to make sure there were plenty of diapers for the babies.'No. Sensei wouldn't do that to me, would he, beside Rin's here doing all that stuff so that can't be the reason' Kakashi thought trying to reassure himself as he tried to focus on his suspiciously D-rank mission level of ANBU guard duty.

The ladies, on the other hand were quite enjoying themselves as they spoke about their different styles of motherhood and parenting.

"And one final thing ladies" Biwako Sarutobi, the eldest women there spoke, invited to share her wisdom of parenting, raising two sons of her own to such a fine standard, although another reason she was here was to share her experience in 'putting men in their place', they felt she was without a doubt the best person to go to for that subject, after all her husband, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, nicknamed 'The God of Shinobi', would have an _ever so slightly _larger than average ego. "Remember that your happiness is your child's happiness, never let your child see you with a sad face" she concluded, her face shifting to a smile at at the sight of these new, young mothers _'they have no idea what they are getting into, but at least they are trying to prepare'_ she thought to herself.

"Thank you for your wisdom, Biwako-san" All the women said, truly thankful she attended these meetings.

"Now I must be going, I have a meeting with the Hokage" Biwako stated heading for the door.

The women left in the room turned to each other continuing with their gossip.

"Ah, little Ino-chan is so fussy when it comes to her food, she fights constantly, like she doesn't even want to eat". Meshibe Yamanaka**(3)** sighed exhaustion clear in her voice.

"I'd consider that lucky" Yoshino Nara exclaimed " I wish that at least once Shikamaru would fuss over something, he does everything without a complaint, he's already asleep by the time I start getting ready to lay him down for his naps. At first I was worried, so I went to see Shikaku's mother and she said Shikaku acted exactly the same way as a baby. Ohh, my son is going to be just like his father!" Yoshino finished almost breaking down in tears.

The other women laughed at the infants antics. The phrase 'Like father, like son' was never stronger than in the Nara clan.

"So Kushina, one week til your due date" Tsume Inuzuka questioned, cradling the infant Kiba in her arms "are you nervous".

"No, I've been through it before ttebane**(4)**, and Minato will be there to make sure everything goes okay, it may be twins this time so it may be twice the work, but I believe me and him will pull through" Kushina stated. Her face not faltering against her words, she meant everyone of them.

Tsume nodded " That's good. We all trust Minato, we know he'd never let anything happen to you or the village..."

An awkward silence crept over the room for a seemingly massive amount of time, no one no exactly how to continue the conversation.

"Well I have to go and put this puppy down for his nap" Tsume spoke, tickling Kiba's neck "I have to do everything cause his jackass of a father is to scared to go near him cause he looks just like me" Tsume grinned as she began to leave.

"Yeah, we have to go to. It's Inoichi and Shikaku's turn to watch the babies" Meshibe spoke as she and Yoshino stoop up to leave the room.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Kushina" The quietest person in the room spoke.

"Yes, Mikoto, in fact there was something I wanted to ask you" Kushina responded.

"Go ahead" Mikoto replied, her eyes never leaving her baby Sasuke, named after Hiruzen Sarutobi's father Sasuke Sarutobi.

"How does the older sibling respond once the younger is born, Teiha-kun's been looking forward to them being born but twins will take up all of Minato and I's attention, will he grow jealous and come to hate his siblings?" Kushina asked, concerned about her eldest son. She and Minato didn't have siblings and she didn't want petty feuds between her children.

"Hmm.." Mikoto began "I think it will depend on their personality, you haven't spoiled Teihaku-san, so you shouldn't worry, Itachi-kun probably got more excited once Sasuke-kun was born" She finished unsure if that was the answer her friend desired "Have you thought of names for them?" she asked hoping to change the subject, if only slightly.

"Well we decided that I'd name the girl and Minato would name the boy, but I just can't find a name I like and Minato's telling me the name he decided after his meeting ttebane" Kushina replied _'I do need to do one last think through for her name'_

"I see" Mikoto replied puzzled she knew Itachi and Sasuke's names by the 7th month of her pregnancies with them.

"But don't you think it's a stroke of luck" Kushina Grinned Mikoto looked confused. "We have a best friend for little Sasuke" Kushina continues, gently patting the left side of her stomach. "and a little girlfriend for him as well" she finished, her grin widening as she now patted the right side of her stomach.**(5)**

"Yes." Mikoto spoke softly, her eyes back on her baby as a smile and faint tint of red appeared on her face "I'd like that".

-**Break**-

Minato and Jiraiya walked through the streets, Minato quickly finishing his paperwork so he could catch up with his sensei. Shinobi stopped to salute their leader, men stopped to wave to their protector, Children stopped to try and touch their hero and women stopped to swoon and faint over their unobtainable prince charming. Jiraiya had just finished relaying the information he collected on the villages outside of Konoha.

"So how's Orochimaru been?" Jiraiya asked. Aware of the deal Minato made with his former teammate to keep him loyal to Konoha.

"Better. He complies to the deal without complaint and hasn't been doing anything suspicious, that I know of" Minato replied, he still did not trust the snake sannin and though he was disgusted with himself to admit this, Orochimaru's..._work _with the Shodaime's DNA had proven to be useful to the village, he created a fail safe should the Kyuubi seal break, all it cost was 60 infants lives, but that and Tenzō would remain a S-class secret, and that experiment was instantly stopped there.

"Well if you want, I could start tailing him on his missions?" Jiraiya offered, he didn't like the amount of freedom his teammate possessed.

"No, as part of the deal, I can't send anyone to spy on him, in or out of the village, it could give his position away on missions as well and effectively get them all killed" Minato responded, he would to this deal no matter what. "Anything on Tsunade?" He asked, knowing the subject needed to be changed.

Nothing." Jiraiya sighed "She clearly doesn't want to be found".

_'Darn, the head of the hospital is planning to retire, I was hoping we could find and convince her to come back, plus Kushina is set on her becoming the baby's godmother'_ Minato thought slightly annoyed.

"Don't worry. I'll find her. No beautiful woman evades the great Jiraiya" He grinned, noticing that his student had said anything.

"I know you will sensei" Minato reassured him with a smile, confident in his sensei's ability to find his former teammate. "Darn, I have a meeting now, you wanna come with sensei?"

"Nah, those stingey meetings aren't my cup of tea, I'll stop by later though" Jiraiya stated as he waved his favourite student goodbye as he flashed away. But now what would he do. He knew straight away when a group of kunoichi headed to the bath house, probably to relieve the stress of a mission.

"Heh heh heh" Jiraiya giggled perversely as he began to follow them, instinctively taking out his notebook and pen in case any 'inspiration' suddenly came to him.

-**Break**-

"And so morale has never been higher with you in charge Minato. Our shinobi are completing missions within a fraction of the time set, plus you have managed to keep to of the Sannin loyal to Konoha. You truly were a wise choice for Hokage" Homura Mitokado spoke facing the young Hokage.

"Thank you, Homura-san" Minato smiled, praise always felt good no matter how small.

"Yes, even the civilians complain less" Koharu Utatane chuckled. The civilians always didn't like the way things worked and always had their two cents.

"That's always good news" Minato laughed, he faced six of the most powerful and influential people in Konoha, yet he did not feel threatened at all. He looked around the room, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, Danzō Shimura, Kagami Uchiha, Hiruzen and Biwako Sarutobi's wise and experienced eyes looked back.

"Onto important matters" Danzō began "Your wife's pregnancy is nearly complete, I hope everything is set up and secure ready for the birth". His voice deadly serious.

"They are" Biwako interrupted "The birth will be looked over directly by myself, Minato and Taji, an ANBU medic nin".

"The birth will also be in a secret location away from the village and guarded by ANBU operatives, should misfortune happen" Hiruzen finished taking a puff from his pipe.

"That is good to know, the safety of the village is always top priority. We have kept the knowledge of Kushina's Jinchuuriki status away from the public's ears, aside from a select few that Kushina and yourself can trust" Danzō stated, the village's safety was always important to him, more important than anyone in this room.

"Yes, and if the Kyuubi break free we go ahead with the plan: we tell everyone that the Kyuubi was attracted to the collected and festering human malice" Minato spoke in return.

"Minato-san" Kagami began to offer. "Perhaps an Uchiha should be present as well at the birth, the Sharingan's control of the Kyuubi is well known, it could help to keep the Kyuubi in check"

A contemplative look appear on everyone's face.

"He's not wrong Minato" Koharu spoke first.

"Yes, this must be taken into consideration" Homura agreed with the two elders.

Everyone in the room seemed to agree and Minato himself could see the logic in Kagami's idea and was about to include his idea into the plan when the most unlikely person spoke out against it.

"That may not be such a wise idea, Minato-san" Danzō argued. "The Sharingan itself could interfere with the birth, it may cause the Kyuubi's permanent loathing for it to manifest in the children, which might cause them to do... Disastrous things to the Uchiha clan later in life" Danzō stated, the Uchiha clan were a powerful symbol in Konoha, as a founding clan they were held in high regard and are important, for the moment. "On the other hand, the Sharingan, while suppressing the Kyuubi's chakra could unintentionally suppress the children's budding chakra coils and render them useless. Imagine the controversy caused by two of Konoha's Yellow Flash's children's inability to mold chakra. This village morale we've worked so hard for would plummet instantaneously..."

Everyone sat dumfounded, Danzō and the Hokage would usually have very different ideals. For Danzō to advise him like this shocked everyone.

"He-He's right Minato, we don't know what it could cause" Hiruzen found his voice first, ironically he was the most disbelieving person, he knew Danzō all his life and he knew that Danzō was never this...caring.

_'I can't believe I'm going to say this'_ Minato thought. "I am inclined to agree with Danzō-san, Kagami-san although your off is well thought out and intriguing. Danzō is right, using the Sharingan's suppression may cause unnecessary side affects." Minato stated, finally making his decision.

"Don't fret, Minato-san, it was merely a suggestion" Kagami spoke with subtle annoyance in his voice.

"Well, although this has been fun, the time states that this meeting should have been over an hour ago and these old bones get so very tired easily, so we'll take our leave Hokage-san" Koharu spoke as all the elders, aside Danzō who remained seated, began to leave.

"Minato-san" Danzō began as soon as the others had left. "I was wondering if you came to an answer for my proposal".

Minato sighed he knew this was coming. "Danzō-san, although I hate to say this, ROOT does get results and could benefit the training of orphans, so my answer is yes, at our next collective meeting I will officially announce that ROOT is officially active once again".

Danzō smiled "Thank you Minat- "

"However" Minato interrupted "ROOT will only be called upon in dire situations and when the time for recruitment comes around, you will tell me in full detail who, why, how and when you plan to recruit them. Do you understand?"

"Of course Minato-san" Danzō answered. Suddenly one of Minato's tri-pronged kunai flew past his face, grazing his cheek slightly, a small trickle of blood rolled down his face.

"Let me make this absolutely clear." Minato glared, his usual warm, bright blue eyes replaced with icy cold ones, fierce and deadly, the eyes of someone who would kill without hesitation. "You have zero second chances. One toe out of line, one step in the wrong direction and I won't disband ROOT... I will destroy it. Permanently." He finished, Minato didn't bother to use Killing Intent, his tone of voice was already deadly and powerful.

"I understand perfectly, Minato-san" Danzō said as he stood up to leave. Danzō was powerful, yes, but he knew that that threat wasn't idle, his years of battle had taught him he shouldn't challenge the Yondaime Hokage, it wouldn't end well for himself.

_'So I see the boy __has__ reason'_ Danzō thought slyly as he walked back to his ROOT base, his plans were beginning to come to fruition, for now patience, was his main objective.

**

* * *

**

**A/N:** Phew! Well that was my first chapter of my first fic. I am gonna start the second chapter right away and hopefully it will be up in a few days, if a good number of people like the fic. 3000 words is pretty good, no? Although I can't help but think that I rushed it, like I'm missing something. By the way, Minato Namikaze is my favourite character in the manga and don't you think I mind him a little tyrant-ish, well hope you enjoyed it, review please, tell me how I can improve it tell me what it's missing and please don't sue. No flames either please, small embers, yes. Constructive criticism is always helpful... :D

P.S some words I haven't spelled wrong, I've spelled the English way (such as Favourite, Labour)

**(1) I made Minato 25 cause that would be the same age as Shikaku, Inoichi and Choza around the time of The Kyuubi attack, they're 41 in shippuden minus 16 years is 25.**

**(2) Minato's first son, I was torn between using Sanbashi and Teihaku for his name, They mean wharf, jetty or pier and anchorage or moorings respectively (at least according to Google translate), which are all synonyms for harbour (Minato's name), I didn't want to use Arashi cause its so common. If his name is wrong please correct me.**

**(3) Ino's mom her name means Pistil, the female part of a flower, hopefully.**

**(4) It was revealed that Kushina has a verbal tick like her son Naruto (ttebayo in his case). Sigh...**

**(5) This might be a pairing, it might not, at the minute not, it's just mommy talk.**

**List of current OC's**

**Meshibe Yamanaka**

**Teihaku Namikaze**

**Unborn twin sibling**

**Everyone else is a real canon character**

**Well I believe that is everything. So see ya. Gonna try how to make a poll work. I'm new you know**


	2. Prologue: Events Leading Part II

**A/N: **Okay chapter 2 is up! Don't have much to say say lets get on with it

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto...

"Speak"

_'Thought'_

_Flashback_

_**Jutsu**_

"**Demon/God speak"**

_**'Demon/God thought'**_

* * *

"So sensei, how is you're book selling?" Minato asked his sensei, as they sat in his kitchen, his meetings for the day were over and now he had Jiraiya come to his house to tell him his and Kushina's news"

"It didn't make it on the bestseller's list" Jiraiya exclaimed sighing "In fact it barely sold at all, maybe I should sex up the sequel, that's my forte after all!"

"Well I liked it!" Minato grinned, Jiraiya sat slightly shocked "The way the character refuses to give up right until the end was really cool, sensei, in fact it's like an autobiography of your life and so I decided and Kushina agreed to name our son after the character in the book."

"Really?" Jiraiya sat even more dumbfounded "It was just a random name that came to me while I was eating some ramen."

"Naruto. It's a beautiful name" Kushina responded, a blush appearing on her face as she looked at her stomach.

"But that would make me his godfather, are you sure you want that on your heads" Jiraiya said, positive that they needed reasoning with.

"Absolutely!" Minato responded instantly, his smile never leaving his face "You're a great and powerful shinobi and a greater man, you're the best role model for him."

"Well, if you put it that way" Jiraiya blushed and scratched the back of his head "What about the girl, have you thought of a name for her?"

"I just can't find one a like" Kushina complained she'd been thinking hard about it all day.

"Well just make sure it's a name that you and her will love forever" Jiraiya nonchalantly spoke.

_'Love?'_ Kushina thought.

_"We came here to be the vessels of the Nine-Tails... But before that, we must find love and fill the vessel __with it"_

"Mito." Kushina spoke, as that fond cherished memory resurfaced in her heart, she knew what she wanted to call her daughter "I want to call our daughter Mito"**(1)**

"I love it" Minato agreed with a small smile.

"So Teihaku, Naruto and Mito" Jiraiya exclaimed "Interesting names, but which one do you think will succeed you as Hokage eh, Minato". He finished with a laugh.

This is caused the parents to laugh, which one would succeed him.

_-_**Break**-

_'The Yondaime is a fool!'_ Orochimaru thought, he never knew that Minato could be so gullible. This deal he made to keep him loyal to the village was the perfect cover for his intentions. Minato, to keep Orochimaru loyal to Konoha allowed him to fuel his ambitions to become immortal.

The deal was: That to keep Orochimaru loyal to the village, Minato would allow him to learn a jutsu from the forbidden scroll, each time he would have to pay 20'000'000 ryo for each jutsu, also Orochimaru could only look at the scroll in Minato's presence, to make sure he did only obtain one jutsu.

However, Minato, being blinded by the same compassion for others that his Hokage predecessors were, left fatal flaws in this deal. Ones that Orochimaru exploited completely _'Minato has clearly forgotten who he is dealing with'_ He thought, his cunning mind ever thinking.

The first flaw was the amount of freedom Minato gave him, no one was allowed to spy on him inside or outside of the village, allowing him to continue his work privately in the secret bases set set up outside the Land of Fire.

This tied into the second flaw. The length of the missions he took meant he was away from the village for months on end and thanks to his ever increasing strength he completed them within a fraction of the time set, giving him months to experiment with a distraction.

The third flaw tied to the second the pay he received from the missions were substantial, within 5 months he had already had enough for his first purchase, he even took up bounty hunting as a side project to keep his money high.

The fourth fatal flaw was that the Yondaime had no idea what other jutsu he learned or developed. In fact his most important one was the ability to send chakra to his eyes, allowing him to read at a much faster rate and pouring chakra into his cerebral cortex, speeding up the rate at which new memory pathways developed, creating crystal clear photographic memory. He used this new technique while looking through the forbidden scroll, instantly memorizing the jutsu his eyes scanned, to write down and practice later, and Minato obliviously stands there thinking that Orochimaru was just trying to find a jutsu that interested him.

The first technique Orochimaru made sure to learn was the _**Multiple Shadow Clone Technique**_, although his chakra capacity only allowed him to create 150 shadow clones, it still radically decreased the time spent mastering jutsu.

For now he would continue on his two newly aqquired techniques, the interesting _**Summoning: Impure World Resurrection**_, a jutsu that if a living sacrifice is offered, can summon the dead back to the realm of the living, Tobirama Senju, the Nidaime Hokage was the only person to learn this technique and had the technique placed into the scroll prior to his death. Orochimaru decided this technique was perfect, to be able offer people their deceased loved ones back to them in exchange for something in return would prove vital, the deceased would be a shell of their former selves, but what they don't know won't hurt them. In battle he could use it to psychologically break down his opponent, forcing them to fight the people they have lost, using his special fuda tag to sap them of their free will and obediently follow his orders.

The other jutsu was again very interesting, the _**Immortal Phoenix Rebirth Technique**_**(2)**, a jutsu that, when sending roughly 25% of the user's chakra to their heart, would act as a kick-start should the heart stop beating, the chakra jolting the heart causing it to beat again, this jutsu could cause him to evade death, at least until his muscles started deteriorating, and ironically this jutsu caused a massive strain on the heart as well, usually not able to hold that much chakra, only the incredibly strong could live through it, therefore it was made forbidden, according to legend, co-founder of Konoha; Madara Uchiha was the one who created this jutsu, and Hashirama Senju, ordered the technique to be put in the scroll, Orochimaru would learn this technique or at least replicate it at a smaller scale.

Even with his new skills, Orochimaru knew not to challenge the Yondaime Hokage, that blasted _**Hiraishin**_ made him practically unbeatable, and he was acting loyal to extend his life span, not shorten it.

Orochimaru continued with his training undisturbed, Konoha distracted by the upcoming birth of the Yondaime's children, the birth was any day now.

-**Break**-

"Come, Kushina!" Biwako shouted "We have to get to the designated location!"

"But the contractions, they hurt!" Kushina whined as she waddled along the path.

"Remember, girl that women are strong, that is why we give birth, you don't won't to let down you're gender, do you?" Biwako shouted, but clearly Kushina was too tired to continue. Luckily she expected this and had a secret weapon, she pulled out as specially made whistle implant with someone's chakra, only person whose chakra was in the whistle could here it. The whistle had one word on it. Might. She blew hard on the whistle and from the view that had overlooking Konoha saw a trial of dust heading towards them.

"YYYYYYOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!" exclaimed the mass of green headed towards them at an inhumane rate, it landed directly in front of them, revealed to be a young man wearing a green jumpsuit, his face armed with abnormally large, black eyebrows with a sleek, black bowl-cut hairstyle "YOU RANG BIWAKO-SAMA, FOR KONOHA'S BLOOMING GREEN BEAST OF BATTLE, MIGHT GUY!'" Guy shouted ended with his patented nice guy pose, consisting of a thumbs-up, wink and a smile so big and bright it causes his teeth to sparkle, he hoped it would catch on to every shinobi.

"Yes thank you Guy." Biwako spoke, she didn't have time for his antics "You know why you are here you are to carry Kushina to the cliff, an ANBU will take over from there" she told the boy. The boy was without a doubt one of the fastest people in Konoha, for the reason he was requested for this job, to get Kushina to the secure location as fast as possible in the event of premature induced labour, he was to get her there then leave straight away, he wasn't told why and was told no more than that, she even had him swear on his youth not to repeat anything about the request to anyone, after all this was a secret, the boy stupidly agreed to everything, she knew exactly how he worked.

"Of course, Biwako-sama!" Guy exclaimed proudly, "Come Kushina-sama" He said picking her bridal style, giving her no time to refuse, Kushina eep'd slightly as he picked her up, she wasn't expecting a 14-year-old to lift her so easily**(3)**.

Guy readied himself before charging forward towards his destination "FOR YYYYOOOOUUUUTTTTHHHH!" was all that could be heard as he sped off.

"I thought I told the boy to be quiet" Biwako groaned as she too began moving towards the destination.

-**Break**-

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH IT HUUUUUUURTSS!" was all that could be heard outside of the cave. Inside the cave Kushina was lay on a table, her stomach exposed with her seal covering it completely.

"I've never heard her cry out in pain like this" Minato said worry clear in his voice, sweat on his face as he poured his chakra into the seal, the Kyuubi apparently eager to break free as the seal was at it's weakest again. "Do you... really think she''ll be okay".

"Of course, just keep your eyes on the Kyuubi's seal" Biwako ordered Minato, she wouldn't allow the Kyuubi to be released.

"But..This is.." Minato stammered looking at his wife's pain contorted face.

"You're the Yondaime Hokage, don't just gape like that!" Biwako shouted, trying to rid Minato of his worry "This much pain would kill a man, but women are strong!".

Kushina's screams of pain didn't get any quieter, The Kyuubi had taken to roaring in her mind, attempting to terrify her in order to escape.

'She's strong! The Kyuubi is trying to break free!' Minato over his worry "You can do it Kushina! You can do it Mito! You can do it Naruto!"

-**Break**-

As Kushina's screams filled out the cave, they were completely unaware of the fact that their ANBU bodyguards outside had been killed. The man, clad in black, slowly moved closer to his goal.

"Soon." He said to himself, his voice containing an slight ecstatic tone to it "I'm so close!"

The ANBU were simple to dispatch with his jutsu. Now he stood just outside the cave's entrance. He could feel it. The Kyuubi's malice, it was think in the air. It was time he regained his pet.

-**Break**-

"You can do it Kushina-san!" Taji, the ANBU medic-nin shouted.

Kushina's cries of pain were silenced by the cry of a baby. Kushina began laughing. "Who's first?"

"It's Naruto. Naruto is the older of the two" Minato laughed. Naruto was small with his father's blond spiky hair, his cheeks were adorned with three whisker like marks. Minato wondered why they were there, he held back the Kyuubi completely, '_it must be a side-affect of the Jinchuuriki's pregnancy.' _he thought.

Taji had taken Naruto away to get cleaned up. While Minato and Kushina chuckled with each other, Biwako reminded them they're job was only half done. "Don't relax yet the other one's coming now!" she shouted, Minato and Kushina nodded, ready for the next delivery.

After a session of Kushina's screams in pain, Mito appeared, she like her brother had their father's blond hair, but instead like her mother her hair was straight and unlike her brother she did not have the whisker like birth marks. Everyone noted that curiously, it was a lot easier this time.

"Biwako-san, why was it easier this time around, even with Teihaku, it wasn't as difficult as it was with Naruto and why doe Naruto only have the whiskers, why not Teihaku or Mito" Minato asked.

"I can only assume that the Kyuubi failing to escape at Teihaku's birth gave it a personal grudge against you, therefore at Naruto's birth it used massive amounts of it's energy to prove a point; that it is stronger than you, hence Naruto's whiskers and when it came to Mito's birth it just didn't have the unrestricted willpower left that it needed to escape" Biwako attempted to explain, but sure still was sure.

Mito had been given to Minato after she had been cleaned up, Taji and Biwako were examining Naruto to find out about these curious birth marks. Minato looking at his daughter who opened her eyes to see her father, she smiled instantly.

Tears instantly poured down his face at the gesture, "Hi, That's right, I'm your dadd-OW!" He shrieked, slightly girlish as the infant pulled on the long blonde bang that framed his face.

Kushina began chuckling, exhausted from delivering two babies, still found the scene funny. "Imagine if Iwa found this out." she said between pants "That the Konoha's Yellow Flash's weakness, is his hair".

Minato chuckled at the joke "Kushina-chan, I know you're tired but you need to exert full control over the Kyuubi now".

"Right" she panted.

Their thoughts were stopped by the sound of two screams, as they turned to see the commotion they saw Taji and Biwako fall to the floor, a pool of blood beginning to surround them, but what shocked them the most was that in the arms of an mysterious masked man, who was reeking of hatred and vengeance, was Naruto.

"Yondaime Hokage Minato." the man spoke, incredibly calmly, it was unnerving "Back away from the Jinchuuriki, or your son dies at the ripe old age of ten minutes..."

Minato stood facing the man _'How did he break through the barrier? Who the hell is this guy?'_ he shifted his weight ready to attack and retrieve his son, when Kushina groaned in pain, her seal began contorting. "Kushina!" Minato exclaimed. _'the seal's not done'._

"Back away from the Jinchuuriki...or don't you care if your son dies" the man spoke again.

"Hold it. J-Just calm down!" Minato said attempting to negotiate with the man.

"You should take your own advice Yondaime, I'm perfectly calm!" The man shouted as he threw Naruto in the air, readying to impale him on a kunai.

The man made a mistake, He forgot who he was dealing with. Minato, daughter still in his arm sped forwards catching his son with his free arm landing gently on the wall, looking down at his two children.

"Well played Minato, but what now!" The man spoke activating the Exploding Tags on Naruto's cloth.

Minato, at first shocked at the tags, quick regaining his composure, expertly remove Naruto's cloth while juggling both the twins. The tags exploded. Using his superior speed he outraced the explosion, the only wound he received was a splinter of wood in his ankle. Minato flashed to his special storage warehouse, here Mito and Naruto would be safe, he placed them down on a small bed and began preparing to battle this mystery assailant.

-**Break**-

"It's been a long time, Kyuubi" The man spoke standing in front of the Kyuubi, within the Jinchuuriki's subconscious, after restrain her, so he could enter her mind more easily.

The Kyuubi was tied to a ball tied down with Kushina's accursed chakra chains, chakra spikes impaling it's many limbs and chest, pinning it down completely, looked down at the man, furious when it saw the man red eye complete with three black tomoe. **"You! What are you doing here!"** Kyuubi asked, furious at the man who it instantly recognized.

"Let's get you out of here, eh" The man spoke, looking the Kyuubi directly in the eye with his Sharingan. The Kyuubi's eyes changed from it's slitted pupils, to the Sharingan eye, till eventually a blood red eye with one large circular black pupil. The special ball of special chakra it was tied to started melting loosening the spikes.

With one ferocious roar the Kyuubi broke free of it's chains and exploded out of Kushina's weakened seal.

"COME FORTH, KYUUBI NO YOKO!" The man ordered as the Kyuubi's body began to form out side of Kushina, for the first time in decades, it was free. "We head for Konoha" The man ordered.

"S-Stop." Kushina spoke weakly.

"The Uzumaki clan is something, to survive a tailed beast extraction without a life-transfer technique. Your clan has my respect" The man spoke what Kushina believed would be the final words that she would hear "Kill her!"

…...The Kyuubi's claws never came, she opened her eyes, she was in Minato's warehouse in Minato's arms, the same position she was in when she first fell in love with him. He saved her again. Minato set her down next to her two children, she wanted Teihaku here as well, she knew she was dying and wanted to tell each of them how much she loved them, how she knew they would grow into splendid people. She could help but smile and cry as she held her two new born babies, while thinking of her eldest.

Minato looked at the scene, he watched Kushina hug their two babies, he knew that if he went to face the Kyuubi, he wouldn't return, but how could he tell her that, he began to put on his coat, 'Yondaime Hokage' written on the back, his family was safe, now to save the rest of his family, it was time to save Konohagakure. By any means necessary. "I'll be back before you know it" he spoke, with that he flashed away. Ready to fight the Kyuubi.

-**Break**-

"What... is this awful feeling?" Itachi asked cradling his younger brother Sasuke _'why did mom and dad have to be away now' _he thought, he didn't like the feeling in the air.

"What'd you say Itachi?" Teihaku asked, returning from the bathroom, he had been invited to stay by Mikoto while Kushina gave birth, he and Itachi were close friends, something their moms had been particularly happy about, currently he and Itachi had been sitting in the Uchiha's garden, talking.

"Don't you feel it, the feeling of impending doom?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah, now that you mention it" Teihaku said noticing the foreboding aura in the air "I'm gonna go and find my parents, I feel like I have to be with them" he finished heading for the door.

Itachi noticed Sasuke began squirming around, as if worried and eventually began crying, _'could he sense it too'_ he thought "Don't worry Sasuke" Itachi spoke softly rocking his young brother, "Your big brother is here to protect you no matter what."

-**Break**-

Minato had just delivered a _**Rasengan **_to this mystery mans back, who he had identified as Madara Uchiha, he out-sped and out-matched a man who could not be hit, first by running at him while throwing his special kunai at him, it phased through him, predictably, he had to become solid again to hit Minato, and Minato used the _**Hiraishin**_ to teleport to the just thrown kunai, effectively putting him behind Madara giving him his chance to deliver a direct attack.

Madara squirmed on the floor, heavily injured, the attack caused him to lose focus and lost his control over the Kyuubi. _'You've beaten me, Yondaime Hokage'_ He admitted to himself, it appeared the standards of the Hokage hadn't diminished since Hashirama.

Minato left him there, getting the Kyuubi out of Konoha was now his top priority.

-**Break**-

The Kyuubi noticed that Madara's control over it was gone, yet it decided, as punishment for keeping it as it's pet for decades, Konoha would perish tonight. It began destroying every building in sight, the Shinobi of Konoha launched their flurries of kunai and shuriken against it. But those small weapons did nothing, it barely felt them, this freedom was short lived as a massive toad appeared out of nowhere and shoulder thrusted it then pinning it to the ground.

It watched the massive toad complain about fighting the Kyuubi, then he felt as if he was being summoned again, the next thing the Kyuubi saw it was far away from the village, the only other things there were, the Yondaime Hokage, his former Jinchuuriki and there two newborns. It didn't like the look in their eyes. Its prediction was correct as it's Ex-Jinchuuriki shot those damn chakra chains out of her body pinning it down again. It watched the Hokage, summons the eight-trigrams throne and place the baby boy on it_** 'He plans to seal me again into the twerp' **_The Kyuubi thought, but it wouldn't let that happen again, it swung it's massive claws down, aiming to shred apart that baby.

-**Break**-

"WHY OUR SON!" Kushina shouted at her husband hearing his plan, restraining the Kyuubi with her special chakra chains.

"THERE'S NO OTHER WAY KUSHINA!" Minato retaliated, he was planning to seal the Kyuubi into his son, the village needed a Jinchuuriki and the tailed beasts balance needed to remain, something that wouldn't be possible, if Kushina went ahead with her own plan. To draw the Kyuubi back into herself and die with her.

"BUT OUR SON, HE'S JUST BEEN BORN!" Kushina yelled, adamant to not have her son share the burden she once held.

"Don't you understand?" Minato said calmly, tears began pouring down his face "How can a ask a parent to do something that, as a parent myself, couldn't do: to give up their child. How can I ask an orphan, already an outcast in their home, to become a pariah. No it has to be him" Minato ended, his voice breaking.

"But what about Teihaku and Mito? They still need a father, someone to teach them" Kushina pleaded.

"There's stuff that, as a father, I can't talk to them about, especially Mito, that's a Mother's job, giving his life to make theirs better, now that's a dad's job, besides, their our kids after all, have a little faith in them" Minato spoke, summoning the death god, he was going ahead with his plan, the seal was weakest during child birth, so the logical thing to do would be to avoid that weakest, that's why he chose Naruto.

He summoned the throne for the _**Eight trigrams seal. **_He turned to face the Kyuubi, however he realized the Kyuubi knew what he was planning to do and brought it's massive claws towards them intending to crush them.

"MMMOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM! DDDDDAAAADDDD!" A new voice called, Minato froze, he couldn't be here, he turned as he saw a small boy with medium-length spiky red hair, wearing a black shirt, under a dark orange jacket complete with a hood and plain blue shorts running towards them, tears pouring from his blue eyes. But his little legs wouldn't carry him fast enough to reach them, his entire family would die in front of his eldest son's eyes**(4)**.

-**Break**-

Teihaku ran through the forest, he knew his parents had to be around here somewhere, he scanned for any possible clues to there whereabouts, until the Kyuubi appeared out of nowhere a few hundred metres ahead of him, he knew that this must be his father's work. He ran towards the Kyuubi, he had to help his parents anyway he could.

He arrived to find his parents and two new young siblings, across the field from the Kyuubi, pinned down by a strange technique by his mom, the Kyuubi even while pinned down managed to move it's arm aiming for them all. Teihaku's legs began running towards them, he knew there was nothing he could do, but his body moved on its own.

"MMMOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM! DDDDDAAAADDDD!" he shouted gaining their attention. Their face's were shocked at his presence, he continued running, he couldn't let his family die in front of him. Tears began pouring from his eyes, his mind already beginning to mentally collapse, he reached out to his family, as if to close the distance between them. His vision was darkening as the Kyuubi's are moved closer, time seemed to slow down Teihaku screamed "STOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPP!", then he blacked out.

-**Break**-

His son had managed to grab the Kyuubi's hand, with the same chakra chains as Kushina. "He has her special chakra ability" Minato thought proudly, his son appeared to have blacked out from fear and shock, but had managed to buy him enough time to activate the dead demon seal. The Shinigami appeared, in all his horrific glory.

_**"You summoned me, mortal"**_ He spoke serious.

"Yes" replied Minato "I need you to seal the Kyuubi into my son there, on the Eight trigrams throne"

_**"Consider it done"**_ The Shinigami answered, he began, performing and other worldly technique of his own the Kyuubi, was sucked towards the baby's stomach entering it, it roared violently, trying to stop it's sealing, eventually the Kyuubi was completely sealed in the boy, the seal closing.

_**"Well time to go go, are you ready?"**_ The Shinigami asked Minato.

Minato pondered. Was he really ready to die?, He wanted to see his sons grow up, to the point where they thought they surpassed him, then completely prove them wrong, He wanted to humiliate his sons in front of their girlfriends by telling embarrassing stories of their childhoods. He wanted to scare the living shit out of the boy who had the gall to ask him for his little girl's hand. He wished to have a grandchild sit on his lap, smiling as he told them stories of his youth. Finally he desired to die peacefully, of old age, surrounded by his loved ones, Kushina holding his hand. He knew then what his answer was.

"I'm not ready" Minato spoke quietly.

_**"...Very well"**_ The Shinigami spoke, now in a surprisingly laid back and easy going voice, completely different to his dark, deep ominous tone just a few moments ago.

"Say what?" Minato stood baffled.

_**"Look, I don't care when I get your soul, I just care about getting it, I'll let you live past tonight, from then you're own your own"**_ The Shinigami explained.

Minato smiled, he would live! He turned to his wife, her breathing had become quieter, yet she still looked him in the eyes, smiling back at his smile, Minato drop his smile then, sorrow appearing on his face "But, my wife, she won't survive the night, I could never replace her, please, is there anything you can do?" Minato pleaded.

_**"Hmm"**_ the Shinigami thought, he clicked his fingers, watching the girl's eyes widen, he allowed her to see him.

"Is that the Shinigami?" Kushina spoke, scared out her wits.

_**"Yes I am, and I have a proposition for you"**_ The Shinigami began. _**"I'll let you live through this night, in return when you die, I will receive your soul"**_.

"DEAL!" Kushina shouted without hesitation, no second thought was needed, the Shinigami was offering her a chance to see her children grow up, she would take it!

_**"Excellent"**_ The Shinigami smiled, rubbing his hands together, he clicked his fingers and Kushina fell asleep _**"She will wake tomorrow, without any health problems"**_.

"Thank you, Shinigami-sama!" Minato thanked the god with all his heart. He and his wife would live to see their children another day.

_**"Just remember"**_ The Shinigami said pointing to Minato _**"When your tickers stop ticking, you're asses are mine"**_ He finished pointing to himself now with his thumb. _**"And one final piece of advice, don't follow your deals fully, no one ever does...well, except me..."**_ The Shinigami warned disappearing into the air.

Minato blinked 'What was that warning about?', he shook it from his head, deeming it not important. He smiled, sleep taking over him, for tomorrow would be a very bright day.

* * *

**A/N:** And thats a wrap, I feel pretty good about this chapter, just out of curiosity, could you tell I was rushing near the end and avoiding any fight scene, don't think I am gonna enjoy writing them. Oh and the thing with Guy, just a small omake really trying to skip time, without actually time skipping, hope it was funny.

**(1) Read the manga or go on Narutopedia to find out who Mito is and why their daughter is named after her.  
**

**(2) Just a random jutsu I made up, but now that I think about it, it may hold a significant role later on  
**

**(3) Simple math, Guy is 30 in shippuden minus 16 means he was fourteen at the attack  
**

**(4) If anyone wants to draw Teihaku feel free and show me please, it would be greatly apprieciated, I'm gonna try draw him myself too, but I'm not a good drawer**

**Okay that's it, chapter 3 will be the end of the prologue's me thinks, finally setting the story, but it won't be up for a couple of weeks i have no ideas on how to fill a 3000 word chapter, so if you have any extra idea's please let me know, but I know how and why Teihaku disappears, but feel free to guess. Review please! XD  
**


	3. Prologue: The Disappearance

We're no strangers to looove.

You know the rules and so do I.

**A/N:** Sorry, I was trying to rick roll on you on a fan-fiction level, wait please don't press back, there's a real chapter here. I swear it's the end of the prologues you'll be happy to know XD. So let's get on with it shall weeee...

Disclaimer: I **NOW** own Naruto, yes that's right. I also own a five-legged unicorn that rides a unicycle all the while playing the maracas and singing the macarena. That was sarcasm. I really don't own Naruto.

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_**Jutsu**_

* * *

Minato's eyes shot open. He noted that he was inside hospital room, bandages wrapped around his torso, arms and forehead, his dark blue shinobi pants were still on. He got out of the bed slowly, pain was twitching through his body, he wondered if everything that happened last night was true or if it was just a dream. When he looked out the window shock and sorrow etched it's way on his face.

There in the north-eastern side of the villages wall was a massive gap, the surrounding area inside the village was also destroyed. Everything that happened was true, the Kyuubi really did escape because of Madara Uchiha, he really did seal the Kyuubi into his son. He turned around ready to leave, he had to help with the reconstruction of the village. He noticed the curtain in his room was drawn forward, indicating someone else was in the room as well. He walked around the curtain and noticed that it was Teihaku in the bed, with Kushina sitting next to him with her head rested in her arms, they were both asleep. Minato gently shook Kushina's shoulder, her eyes fluttered open.

"Minato-kun!" She exclaimed softly, happiness in her voice as she hugged him.

"How long was I out?" Minato asked, hugging his wife in return.

"Two days" Kushina responded. "I woke up yesterday and have been looking after our babies since". She finished, looking down at Teihaku.

"Where are the babies?" Minato asked again.

"In the room next door, they are being guarded by ANBU as well. Just in case". Kushina answered "The elders told me that as soon as you were able to walk that they needed to have a meeting with you, Hiruzen has been taking care of restoring the village while you were unconscious, so don't worry, everything's fine". She finished with a smile.

"Well I guess this was coming, they must have a lot of questions, mainly why I am still alive" Minato chuckled as he headed to the door, inwardly he was not looking forward to the meeting. He didn't really know how to explain why he was alive.

**-Break-**

"And that's it, the Shinigami let me live past the night, as long as I eventually die he's happy" Minato finished with a sigh, he sounded completely crazy.

Needless to say, the elders sat flabbergasted, but what Minato said might be true, his strong spirit could have caused the Shinigami to postpone collecting Minato's soul.

"Well that is... interesting" Hiruzen spoke puzzled, he had been working to rebuild the village in Minato's absence, when he wasn't working he was grieving the death of his wife.

"What are the casualties like?" Minato spoke, changing the topic.

"Roughly 487 Shinobi dead, 594 injured. The civilians toll is radically less 147 dead and 295 injured" Koharu spoke, many valuable and strong Shinobi had died that night.

"I see..." Minato spoke solemnly, that was so many in the span of the 4 hour and 57 minute rampage of the Kyuubi.

"However..." Homura spoke uneasily, but someone had to tell Minato "There is the death of one person that you should specifically know about.."

"Who?" Minato asked, he didn't like where this was going.

"Rin. I'm sorry Minato. But she died during the attack." Hiruzen spoke softly and sorrowfully, none of his students had died, and Minato's student were so much younger than them, he had already lost Obito. That must almost feel as bad as losing a direct family member.

"What?" Minato spoke shocked. "Rin's dead. How."

"She was crushed under one of the buildings the Kyuubi smashed. Apparently she managed two moved two children out the way of the building, but didn't have enough time to get herself out the way as well." Koharu spoke, she too saddened by the news.

Minato didn't speak, he couldn't find the words to describe what he was feeling, first Obito and now Rin, they had both died saving others, for that he was proud, but he still couldn't help feel like he failed as a sensei.

"And Kakashi? How did he take the news?" Minato asked finally finding his voice.

"He was the one who found her." Hiruzen spoke quickly. "He instantly collapsed as soon as he saw her body, it was quite disturbing really, seeing that young, strong, quiet ANBU mentally breakdown, he started repeatedly mumbling that 'he had failed Obito', he's in the recovery room now but I still think he's asleep."

"Although this is very unfortunate Minato-san." Danzō spoke next "There are more pressing matters at hand, mainly this masked man you spoke of, who controlled the Kyuubi perfectly, there are only two people who could ever accomplish that, one we know is gone, we buried him, but the other.." Danzō's eyes shifted to glare at Kagami. "Was Madara Uchiha".

Everyone in the room noticed the look toward Kagami. Kagami himself wouldn't take this accusation towards his clan.

"Danzō, I hope you aren't insinuating that the Uchiha clan had something to do with the Kyuubi attack, surely you remember that Madara went rogue years before we were born and then was killed by Shodaime Hokage-sama".

"There was no proof that he had died, Kagami" Danzō argued "And besides, I accuse because there were no Uchiha during the counter-attack against the Kyuubi".

"And where were you Danzō?" Hiruzen questioned, he lead the counter-attack so he knew who was there and who wasn't.

"I was indisposed, you see, I was preparing for when ROOT became active again" Danzō stated, shocking the members of the council.

"ROOT isn't becoming re-active!" Hiruzen practically shouted.

"Really? Well why don't we ask Minato-san" Danzō nonchalantly spoke.

Everyone looked at Minato, some with confusion in there eyes some with slight anger.

"It's true I'm afraid" Minato began softly, slightly ashamed of himself. "I was going to announce that ROOT was officially re-active, however it would only be called upon in desperate situations and had practically no freedom when it came to recruitment."

_'Minato...' _Hiruzen thought, slightly disappointed in his successor. "But Danzō, would you not consider the strongest of the Bijuu to be a dire situation?"

"Yes but as I said, the Uchiha clan themselves as a whole weren't there themselves" Danzō stated, trying to get the heat off himself "Kagami pressed that a Uchiha should be present and Kushina's labour but weren't there when the Kyuubi attacked"

"That doesn't matter now!" Minato shouted, startling everyone "It doesn't matter who was there and who wasn't now, what matters is that the village is safe, the will of fire will carry on." Minato finished, calmly, _'That ought to shut everyone up'_ he thought to himself, what Danzō was doing was crazy, he was accusing the second most prestigious clan in Konoha of treachery, his words could spur the Uchiha clan as a whole to defect and he couldn't allow that.

Everyone took the hint from Minato that this topic of conversation was over. They decided to move on, to the new Jinchuuriki.

"What should we do about little Naruto?" Koharu asked.

"We do nothing." Minato stated "He is what he is."

Everyone looked slightly shocked, how could he say that about his own son. Hiruzen spoke first "Minato h-".

"He is a hero!" Minato smiled. "There is no point in denying to the public that he is a Jinchuuriki, so we will make sure that they recognize him as the hero he is, he is keeping the Kyuubi at bay."

A few of the council sighed in relief, this was the same Minato they knew.

"Very well." Hiruzen smiled "We will tell the citizens of Naruto's Jinchuuriki status and that he should be viewed as Konoha's saviour, it will be up to them to comply, but you have the people's hearts Minato, they will listen".

**-Break-**

Kushina instantly sprung up when she felt something shuffling, she looked at Teihaku, his face was scrunched up, slowly his eyes opened, his eyes turned to look at his mom, she gasped and hugged him, tears crawled down her face.

"Mom. Where am I?" Teihaku asked.

"In the hospital, you collapsed during the Kyuubi attack and have been unconscious for two days." Kushina sniffled as she let go of her son.

"So all that really happened." Teihaku spoke tiredly "Where is dad, and Otouto and Imouto?"**(1)**

"Dad's at a meeting, and the twins are next door" She looked at her son, she became worried when slowly remove the sheet and stood up, she was going to tell him to get back into bed, but he didn't show any pain while moving.

"I want to see them" Teihaku smiled at his mom.

Kushina smiled at her eldest child, it seemed that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Come on then, let's go see them." She extended her hand out to him, his tiny hand grabbed hers back, her hand still wrapped round his. She lead him next door the ANBU moved out the way they came up towards the crib that they were both sleeping. Teihaku smiled as this was the first time he met his siblings up close. Kushina pointed to the one in he blue cloth, "This one is Naruto and this.." she said as she now pointed to the baby wrapped in pink cloth "is Mito."

Teihaku looked at both of them, both of the babies opened their eyes, they had the same blue eyes as him, but they both had his dad's yellow hair, unlike him who had his mom's bright red hair. He also noticed that while his and Naruto's hair was spiky like their dad's, Mito's was straight like their mom's. Both babies looked at Teihaku and smiled before both started gurgling and giggling.

Kushina saw the gesture between her children and instantly burst into tears _'My babies are gonna be the best of friends!' _she thought to herself. All of the children looked at her with a weird look "Sorry, sorry." she whispered as she dried the tears from her eyes.

**-Break-**

Danzō walked through his base of operations, he pondered the irony of everything that transpired, if he had helped in the Kyuubi attack he would have revealed that ROOT was still secretly active, and he had to wait for the Hokage made the official announcement. And on the plus side, the Hokage had lost a slight amount of respect from Hiruzen, but he more than made up for it by fighting Madara Uchiha, now he himself knew what to look for, an orange mask with tribal designs**(2)**. If he could find Madara, he could enlist him to help overthrow Konoha and Minato.

_'No doubt that Madara will have an immense grudge against both of them.' _he thought as new plans began to formulate, he had recently come across information about a most intriguing forbidden technique. Forbidden even by the power-hungry Uchiha standards, a technique that allowed the user to remove the boundaries of reality and illusion, the ability to allow the user to control the state of their own existence. The ability to make death an illusion. The _**Izanagi**_.

Of course this technique was not without consequence, the user must have Sharingan and the Senju clan's blood to control it perfectly, and this technique could only be used twice, once for each eye, after that the eye was permanently closed and left in a blind state.

"I wonder... is there a more practical use to it though" Danzō mused, touching the bandages around his empty eye socket, he lost the eye during the second great shinobi world war and had been waiting for an opportune moment to replace it, he had heard through Kagami's bragging, that his grandson Shisui, was showing all the signs of being a genius even in the Uchiha clan, despite not being born into the clan head's direct family.**(3)**

"Could he be the one I've been waiting for" Danzō thought as he walked into his office, to write down what had transpired in today's meeting.

**-Time skip—Break-**

It had been two years since the Kyuubi attack. And now the village once again blossomed. Minato sat on his head, carved into the Hokage monument. He looked over his village, everything had been going well, everyone did appreciate Naruto's sacrifice and hail him as a hero. The people were happy and safe, no other countries had attempted to do anything to start wars with Konoha, although he feared for his children's safety, especially Teihaku, who was starting the academy soon, no doubt that once news got out about the Yellow Flash's son had begun his journey into the world of ninja, Minato's enemies, mainly Iwa would try and eliminate that possible threat. He and Kushina had decided to hold back there children's academy training for two years, until aged seven. It seemed like a more humane age to start. His gaze moved into the direction of the Namikaze estate, his family had become larger than Hiruzen's, so he allowed him to stay in the Hokage mansion, he decided to stay in his own estate, he wondered how Kushina was doing with the babies.

**-Break-**

"Teihaku! Change Naruto while I put Mito down for a nap!" Kushina shouted, two babies at once was hard work, plus with Minato's long hours and Kakashi ANBU duties, Teihaku was the only real help, he was a saviour for it, but Kushina was begin to worry that her looks were beginning to fade.

"Okay, mom!" Teihaku replied, his mom always looked tired and his dad was always working, so he had taken to helping his mom when it came to looking after Naruto and Mito. He had just finished change Naruto when a knock came to the front door.

He approached the door and opened it, revealing Itachi, his best friend, on the other side, he looked surprisingly miserable.

"Hey, Itachi What's up?" Teihaku asked.

"Teihaku." Itachi began, he had to show him, although he couldn't look his friend in the face. "I need you to come with me, it's important." He finished quite seriously.

Teihaku, understanding the seriousness nodded. "Mom! I'm going out for a while with Itachi, Naruto's been changed!" He finished as he closed the door. "So, where we going?"

"Just follow me." Itachi said solemnly.

**-Break-**

Teihaku, was beginning to get frustrated, Itachi was leading him on a wild goose chase, they've been going through every alleyway in Konoha "Itachi! When are we getting there?"

"Shhhhhhh. We're here." Itachi stated as he pointed to the bar next to the alleyway they were hiding they snuck up to the light, that's when Teihaku heard what would shock his very soul...

"I know that he is the Yondaime's son, but why does he have to stay in Konoha, can't they move him somewhere else, away from us."

"I know, It's so scary knowing that the Kyuubi, is sealed within some little baby."

"I mean can't the Yondaime have some more consideration for us."

"You guys should all shut up! Don't you trust Yondaime-sama."

"Of course I trust Yondaime-sama. It's the kid I don't trust, he will have no control of the Kyuubi, that brat."

"That monster."

"That demon!"

Teihaku stood shocked, his eyes widening beyond humanly possible, this is what Konoha really thought of Naruto, he knew of his little brother's status, he noticed the seal on his stomach and he questioned his parents, who told him everything and that Naruto was a hero, he believed them, he thought everybody did, he was going to run out and beat them all to a pulp for bad mouthing his little brother when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He turned to see Itachi, shaking his head. "Let's get out of here" He spoke softly.

Weaving back through the alleyways they stopped at the park, the sun was beginning to set, Itachi turned back around to face him, seriousness and guilt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Teihaku. But I had to show you." Itachi spoke first.

"It's okay, Itachi" Teihaku replied, sadness overflowed from his eyes "It'll be okay, once it tell my dad all the bad things they said about Otouto, they'll get what's coming to them."

"You can't do that." Itachi responded quickly "That would only destroy Hokage-sama, he has too much on his mind as it is."

"THEN WHY DID YOU SHOW ME THIS!" Teihaku shouted "HOW CAN I JUST STAND AND LISTEN TO MY BROTHER BEING RIDICULED BY THE VERY PEOPLE HE'S CONTINOUSLY SAVING BY HAVING THAT BEAST TRAPPED WITHIN HIM, I TOLD YOU CAUSE I THOUGHT I COULD TRUST YOU, NOW HELP ME HELP MY BROTHER!"

"The reason I showed you is this." Itachi closed his eyes, despite being shouted at he was incredibly calm. "As the older sibling, it is your responsibility, no, your duty to protect the younger siblings, no matter what cost to yourself. You must be strong for their sakes, so you can become an obstacle they can overcome..."

Teihaku stood shocked, Itachi made perfect sense, to protect Naruto and Mito, he had to become strong, stronger than his father, stronger than the Sandaime, stronger than any shinobi has ever been. "I understand." Teihaku smiled "Thanks Itachi."

Itachi smiled in return. His friend had finally grasped what his role in life was supposed to be. They both parted ways there. Teihaku had some stuff to think about.

-Break-

Teihaku walked through the streets, the citizens beamed when they saw him, they bowed respectfully and called him 'Honourable first born'. He felt sick to his stomach, these people ridicule his younger brother over something that wasn't his fault, yet they bow in his presence, despite the fact that he had done nothing for them. He shook the thoughts from his head, he needed to be strong, for his brother and sister. But who could he go too to get power. His father was revered as one of the strongest shinobi ever, probably the strongest at this very moment in time. If he couldn't make him strong no one could.

-Break-

Minato sat in his office. _'Another successful mission!'_ he smiled as he thought to himself, the Jonin and 4 Chunin in the room were exhausted. He could blame them, this was an A-Rank mission, bordering on S-Rank! He was about to give them their pay and let the be on their way. When someone new entered the room.

"Mission accomplished, Minato" Orochimaru entered the room, he didn't knock, he just entered, he gave the Hokage the report for the mission. Minato read over it quickly, before smiling.

"Excellent Orochimaru!" Minato said "Your mission success streak hasn't stopped, I see" He chuckled.

Orochimaru was about to respond when someone even newer, burst through the door, nearly blowing it off it's hinges.

"DAD!" Teihaku shouted, he looked his father directly in the eye, before he began walking towards the desk "TEACH ME THE _**HIRAISHIN**_, NOW!" he practically demanded as he slammed his hands on the desk.

Needless to say Minato sat shocked, Teihaku had never shown this attitude towards him before, on the other hand, he was extremely happy and proud that his son has already taken an interest in one of his prized Jutsu.

It appeared that even the Jonin and Chunin in the room, aside from Orochimaru, were inspired into tears. 'He truly is his father's son'. 'He will make this village proud' were a few of the mumblings Minato heard. It appeared that Teihaku wasn't planning on taking no for an answer, but his body wasn't ready for the affects of the _**Hiraishin **_so he decided to humour him.

"Well first things first, son, you need to build your base speed, before you can even attempt the _**Hiraishin**_, go away and get faster, then I'll teach you the basics of it." Minato finished with a smile sent towards his son.

Teihaku nodded and sped out the room, once he was gone , the ninja began telling Minato how proud he should be of Teihaku. Minato scratched the back of his head and grinned profusely. He was never as proud of his son, than the day he stalled the Kyuubi.

No one in the room noticed Orochimaru, looking at the door, a eerie smile etched on his face, he licked his lips _'The hunger for power in the boy's eyes, with just the right provoking, I could have a powerful apprentice in him'_ he thought deviously as he planned a way to persuade the boy to join him.

**-Break-**

Teihaku was currently running through the village, his dad told him he needed to be fast, so he would be fast. He was lost in his own thoughts, he didn't noticed that he crashed into someone. With a thump he fell to the floor, he groaned in slight pain and looked up. The man he had bumped into was tall and slender, with long black hair and dressed in normal Konoha shinobi uniform, his skin was unusually pale with purple markings around his eyes, speaking of which they were always scary when he looked at them, they were just like a snakes, yellow with a slitted pupil.

"Orochimaru-san, sorry, I didn't see you there" Teihaku apologised as he stood up, dusting himself off.

"No need to worry, Teihaku-kun, besides I was looking for you" Orochimaru spoke softly.

"You were? Why?" Teihaku questioned.

"Well, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation you had with your father, and while getting fast enough for the _**Hiraishin**_ is an admirable goal, it will not make you strong" Orochimaru replied, again softly.

"It won't, but dad said it would" Teihaku spoke sadly, was his dad lying to him.

"It will just make you fast, however, I've been looking for a new apprentice, if you want, I could make you strong in all aspects." Orochimaru spoke, he had the boy now.

"Really! You could!" Teihaku yelled with glee, he bowed to Orochimaru. "I wont fail you, Orochimaru-sensei!"

"Now, now, not so fast." Orochimaru chuckled "There are a few conditions that you must meet before I can officially take you as an apprentice."

"Conditions? What conditions?" Teihaku questioned the man.

"Well first, I would like a apprentice with massive amounts of potential, if you can copy down two of your father's most prized Jutsu into these scrolls" Orochimaru said as he handed the boy two empty scrolls "Only you can open them so they will be safe."

"Okay.." Teihaku spoke, confused, he took the scrolls and put them in his back pocket "What else?"

"Well, this village will only hold back your strength, to get truly strong you must leave the village with me, so we can train in an undisturbed area, just for a little while" Orochimaru spoke calmly, if the boy was ever going to back out, it would be now.

Teihaku was stumped, did he really want to leave the village, even if it was only for a little while, if what Orochimaru-san was saying is true, then the benefits of leaving now would weigh more than the cost. "Okay, so when do we leave." He had decided, if this would make him strong, he would take the opportunity.

"Meet me here tomorrow at 5:30 AM and pack lightly, oh and don't tell anyone about this, we wouldn't want anyone to worry about you." Orochimaru spoke with a smile, he had the boy.

Teihaku nodded as he ran home to pack, he couldn't wait for this trip. As soon as he got home he ran upstairs to his dad's study, to where all his Jutsu were stored, he picked one he knew and one that sounded so cool.

"_**Hiraishin**_ and _**Rasengan**_, huh" Teihaku whispered as he copied down everything in the scroll, both could only be opened by family blood, he didn't have the slightest clue what the scroll were saying, but he needed to impress Orochimaru-sensei, so he copied down everything. Once he was done he put the scrolls back exactly as he found them. He didn't want anyone to worry about what he was doing.

**-Break-**

Orochimaru and Teihaku were currently walking through the forest. His plan to get Teihaku out of the village and have no blame placed upon himself was genius.

First, he told the boy to go home, he knew at least one person, would see him after him, his mother she would eat at the dining table with him, she'd probably even tuck him in. That gave an alibi as someone had seen him after he spoke to the boy.

Next was sending out a Shadow Clone, with an extreme amount of chakra so it could last about ¾ of the day, through the gate and sign out for him, he would be going on a new 3 month mission away from the village, he signed out at 11:30 PM, so officially he was out of the long before Teihaku disappeared.

He told the boy to meet up with him at 5:30, everyone that was up, was already busy at this time, including the Hokage, everyone else was asleep, perfect time to escape.

He had the clone, when far enough away to summon a snake, then disperse, he then had the snake reverse summon Orochimaru and Teihaku to it's location, effectively teleporting them through the barrier and into safety.

Everything had been executed perfectly. They were now headed towards one of Orochimaru's more specialised laboratory's across the river, to lose their trail and scent, ready to begin Teihaku's training.

**-Break-**

Kushina ran through the estate, screaming and crying. Teihaku wasn't in his room and he was never up before she woke him, she even tucked him in that night, so she knew he came home. He wasn't anyway in the estate, she ran out the estate leaving and ANBU to watch the babies, she ran through the streets towards the Hokage's office, looking for some sign of Teihaku along the way. She reached Minato's office and burst down the door, finding Minato inside amidst many stacks of paperwork.

**-Break-**

Minato watched as his office door came crashing down, revealing his wife in hysterics, instantly he was by her side, holding on to her as she wailed.

"Kushi-chan, what's wrong?" Minato asked worriedly.

"I-It's T-Teihaku!" Kushina shouted between sobs. "He-He wasn't in bed this morning and I can't find him anywhere, he's gone Minato!"

Minato's eyes widened, Teihaku couldn't have left, he had no real motive to run away from home, he got no less attention than the twins and he was beginning the academy, what could possibly make him want to leave. He teleported himself and Kushina to the barrier observation room, where the members were hard at work.

"Hokage-sama! What can I do for you?" The head spoke, startled by the Hokage's sudden appearance.

"I need you to check to see whether or not Teihaku is still in the barrier's walls" He ordered.

"Right away!" The head spoke as he turned to the device "When was the last time he was seen?"

"Yesterday, around 8:00 PM" Kushina cried.

"I see, well I can't find his chakra response on the map, it is usually not there when the person is either not in the village or is dead, and if he was last seen when you said, a corpse would still be fresh enough to send a chakra response, I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but it appears that Teihaku-san is not in the village."

Even though it appeared to be impossible Kushina's cries had gotten significantly louder at the news, she fell to her knees on the floor and sobbed into her hands. Minato stood shocked, if only for a second, he was instantly on the move, ordering every available Inuzuka clan member and ANBU operative to locate his son.

Unfortunately, news like this spread like wild fire, the village as a whole began to panic, at how the 'Honourable first born' had disappeared into thin air. What made matters worse was that the villagers had already began speculating the worst.

**-Break- **

News of Teihaku's disappearance had just reached the Uchiha clan, Mikoto was instantly away, going to comfort her close friend. Many Uchiha had also gone to calm the villagers. Itachi stood there shocked. He couldn't believe that Teihaku was gone, after what they had spoken about yesterday, he thought Teihaku understood, how would leaving the village help Teihaku get stronger to protect his siblings. _'Wait'_ Itachi thought, could Teihaku have left to gain strength, could all this had been spurred because of his words towards Teihaku. _'It's all my fault'_, Itachi felt himself sink into depression, his closest friend was missing because of him, he felt like crying and he was about to when he felt a tug at his shirt. He looked down and saw Sasuke smiling at him.

"Itachi-nii-san" Sasuke stammered out before he began laughing. He turned around and walked away, as if his job was done.

Apparently Sasuke's job was done. Itachi smiled at his younger brother's gesture, he must have known that he was upset and attempted to cheer him up. He watched as Sasuke walked away. _'What am I doing, I need to follow my own words' _Itachi thought strongly, he was going to listen to his own words of advice to Teihaku, he would be strong for his younger brother.

**-Break-**

Teihaku looked slightly nervous at what was in front of him. Before him stood a huge tube, appeared large enough to hold a grown man. And Orochimaru-sensei wanted him to step into it.

"Are you sure this will make me strong, sensei?" Teihaku asked.

"Of course, when you go in the tube will be filled up with a strong liquid that will put in in a state of suspended animation, or a very long sleep. You won't need to eat, you will just be resting." Orochimaru stated.

"And how will stepping into that make me strong?" Teihaku shouted.

"The liquid is composed of minerals that is needed for growth, by being exposed to it for and extended period of time, all of your characteristics will increase, strength, speed, intelligence, stamina, chakra capacity, they will all be increased" Orochimaru smiled.

Teihaku turned to look at the tube in awe now, he would get strong by sleeping. "Put me in!" He shouted as he jumped into the tube.

"Easy now" Orochimaru chuckled as he attached the boy to the machine. "This will only increase the characteristics, after we release you, we will train your body and your will to adapt to your new strength."

Teihaku nodded in understanding. "So how long will I be staying in?"

"About 4 years" Orochimaru stated simply.

Teihaku grinned, being exposed to this for 4 years would make him very powerful, he'd be so super cool he could take down his dad with one move.

"See you in 4 years" Orochimaru smiled and waved to the boy as he closed the door. As soon as the door closed, the liquid began to pour in, it was cold but he didn't mind, he began to float in it, when it reach past his head Teihaku began to feel sleepy, he closed his eyes and welcomed the sleep, next time he woke up he would be strong...

"The boy is so simple minded" Orochimaru laughed as he began to walk away. "Just like everyone else who craves power quickly."

What he decided to not mention to the boy was that the liquid would also filled with minuscule seals, which would repress the boy's memories of his life in Konoha, he would recognise Orochimaru as his sensei but that was it. Not even a Yamanaka could break those seals. He wasn't going to risk deleting the memories from the boy, because any jutsu that deleted memories, deleted everything, even memories known from birth, such as how to blink or breathe, no, he would lock them away, so far that they had no chance of resurfacing.

He had collected one of the pieces to his immortality. The Uzumaki blood, the clan of longevity. If he could attain the Sharingan, for its capabilities of instantly mimicking new Jutsu, then by somehow adding the Uzumaki blood to his body with some sort of Jutsu, he might just be able to make his dream of Immortality real.

For now he left the base, to begin the mission he had signed to do. To avoid suspicion. Orochimaru raced towards his checkpoint, wondering who among the Uchiha clan was worthy of giving their Sharingan to him. Perhaps Itachi, Teihaku's closest friend, no doubt he would be traumatized by this event, and he too would desire to get stronger. He could be the one...

* * *

**A/N:** And thats a wrap, I feel pretty pleased with this chapter. Just so you know this will be a Naruto centric fic, i'm still trying to decide a decent role for his sister, I have my plans for Naruto and I hope you'll like them.

**(1) - Little Brother and Little sister respectively, Hopefully :(**

**(2) - He still had that mask then, so..**

**(3) - I just made up this relationship**

Which brings me up to my final ramble, as of when I posted this chapter: 20/10/2010, I have had zero reviews for my fic and it's been almost up for 3 weeks, does that mean it's not good, or is it just not appealing. So please if it is not good just let me know and I will discontinue. Thanks.

Oh and a Poll: Should The Uchiha massacre happen? Yes or no and by whom?


	4. Chapter 1: The First Truth, Revealed

**A/N:** Okay chapter four is up, feel pretty good about it. And my first fight scene, so I'm kinda worried about that, but it's small so..

Disclaimer: Go to chapter, one, two and three to find out if I do or do not own Naruto.

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_**Jutsu**_

* * *

It had been three years since Teihaku's disappearance, and not a day went by when the didn't miss them with all their heart. Many nights Kushina didn't sleep, she just sobbed over her eldest son's loss, Minato cried as well, although not nearly as much as his wife. He wasn't allowed to show weakness, citizens of Konoha die everyday, Konoha was a family, so he had to be strong for Konoha's sake, however when he was alone, his human weakness showed, he mourned, not just for Teihaku, but for Obito and Rin, he never got a chance to tell them how much he loved each of hem, how he knew they would grow up to be fine adults.

It was at night when Konoha as a whole mourned Teihaku's loss, just like when they mourned Nawaki of the Senju clan's loss. They had lost a prince to Konoha, all of Konoha's citizens admitted how much they too loved Teihaku, he was always smiling and laughing, he didn't act snobbish because of his family and was willing to help anyone who asked for it. When his younger twin siblings came along they saw how mature he could be, he would be seen looking after them, he didn't get jealous of the attention they received. He was the perfect young boy. Unfortunately, Konoha couldn't mourn Teihaku publicly, a decree was placed on speaking about Teihaku in public, especially in front off Naruto and Mito, their parents had decided to never tell them about Teihaku's existence, they removed any pictures of him, to spare the twins any grief, what could they say, 'your big brother just vanished into thin air'.

There were no clues to Teihaku's whereabouts or what had happened. One day he was there, the next he wasn't. This caused a panic in Konoha, how the Hokage's son could just slip away into thin air. They had no evidence to accuse anyone and the shinobi were begging for the order to search the entire continent to find him, however Minato denied this, no matter how much he wanted to see his son, he wouldn't step onto foreign or sacred territory, Suna's similar actions when the Sandaime Kazekage disappeared was one of the starting causes of the Third Great Shinobi World War, he did however send small parties out in secret to find even the smallest clue to Teihaku's whereabouts.

None the less, his grief for his eldest son didn't take away any of his love for his two younger children, he didn't begin to see them as Teihaku, they were their own people, it wasn't their fault that Teihaku disappeared. However he and Kushina decided to stick to their promise and keep Naruto and Mito from entering the Academy until aged seven, however they had begun training them so they wouldn't be so far behind their classmates.

**-Break-**

A hand blocked the incoming kick, the person kicking tried to stomp with their free foot but was thrown back, the person landed on one knee, panting. They lifted their head up to reveal a small boy, armed with two deep, bright blue eyes, his hair was spiky and blonde, with small bangs over his forehead and framing his face. Three whisker like marks adorned each of his cheeks. He was dressed in a plain black shirt, with orange shorts extending just past the knee, with a black stripe extending up both the sides. His ankles were wrapped in bandages and wore blue sandals.

"Come on Naru-Nii!" A voice shouted from across the small garden field. "Is that all you got!"

The voice came from a mirror image of the boy, albeit more feminine, she had her long blonde hair tied into two ponytails at the side of the head, cascading down her front. She shared the same eyes as her brother, although hers seemed even more bright and cheerful. She wore a simple pink shirt with orange swirls flowing through it. She wore a loose light blue skirt, with a pair of black shorts underneath them. Her legs were also wrapped in bandages and wore blue sandals.

The boy yelled a he charged the girl again, he swung his left fist in, yet the girl blocked with her own left forearm, forcing it to the side. The boy had to bring his arms to a cross to protect his face from and incoming fist. The capitilised on the boy's body position by attempting to punch him in the stomach with her left fist. The boy lifted his right knee to block it. With the boy's weight being supported by one leg, with no chance of blocking the next hit, the girl ducked down and swiped his leg with hers, flipping him into the air, before crashing to the ground, landing on his head. The boy groaned in pain and attempted to move, but that head injury was messing with his movement not allowing him to move. Shadow crept over his vision as he opened his eyes. He saw the girl standing over him, smirking.

"I win, Naru-nii" She said with a cocky tone of voice.

"Yeah... but I'm still three up" Naruto replied, as his sister helped him to his feet. They both began walking to the edge of their house, where their parents were currently sitting, watching them train.

"That was much better, Mito" Minato grinned "Naruto, although your form was good, you let your anger get the better of you sometimes, you need to keep your composure in a fight, it may end up saving your life, now both of you go get ready for dinner" He finished with a smile.

"Yes, Dad" Chimed out both of their mouths as Mito began dragging her brother in, when they had both entered the house, Kushina began speaking to Minato.

"They are both exceptional Minato" She smiled.

"Yes, they are." Minato replied "Naruto has incredibly high stamina, I've never seen so much, I was surprised when he didn't get back up. Also his strength, speed and intelligence are high as well, and he has massive chakra capabilities, however, his chakra control is extremely low, the amount of chakra he used to even begin the tree climbing exercise was extraordinary. Mito on the other has near complete chakra control and a high chakra capacity, though not nearly as much as Naruto, her strength, speed and intelligence or impressive as well, I think she already made that plan to beat Naruto before he charged at her, she outsmarted him this time and her stamina's not bad either. At this minute I would say she is the stronger one. Simply because of her higher chakra control."

"Minato, Naruto's chakra control is quite worrying" Kushina spoke.

"Yes, that may be the thing we need to focus on most" Minato responded.

**-Break-**

Hiruzen sat in the council room, he was accompanied Koharu, Homura and Danzō, recently Kagami had not been attending meetings. These meetings were to usually to discuss matter that would eventually be discussed with the Hokage, if something needed to be pass or denied, they knew where to stand on it.

"The boy's chakra control is worrying" Koharu stated "The amount he needs to use even the simplest of jutsu could cause him to tap into the Kyuubi's power or allow the Kyuubi to influence him."

"That may be, but control will something he will pick up, even faster when he begins at the academy" Hiruzen responded.

"Then you know the only option then Hiruzen." Homura stated, with seriousness written across his face. "Young Naruto must begin the academy immediately, we can't afford to wait to years for him to begin learn chakra control at a faster rate, you do realise that the Chunin exams are coming up in five months, and Naruto must accompany the Hokage to Kumo, as a demonstration of his power."**(1)**

"But that's not for me to decide." Hiruzen stated "Minato, as Hokage AND as Naruto's father has the highest authority over when Naruto enters the academy. I take no part it it."

"Then perhaps an alternative solution." Danzō began. "My ROOT recruitment time is coming soon, if young Naruto, were to enter my ROOT division, why in five months, his chakra control could be comparable to any decent medic-nin."

"You forget your place, Danzō" Koharu shot a dark look at him. "The Jinchuuriki is a sign of the Hokage's power, not yours."

"But perhaps Danzō has provided the answer." Homura stated. "We tell Minato that either Naruto enter the academy after the Chunin exams or we allow Danzō to take him into ROOT until the Chunin exams commence. Minato will no doubt pick the former option, those five months he has will be able to allow him to prepare Naruto for the academy and to teach him etiquette, while dealing with his superiors, which he will no doubt have to do while at Kumo for the Chunin exams, and the Raikage is easily swayed by his emotions, especially rage."

Koharu nodded in agreement, she didn't like the idea of threatening the Hokage, but if it allowed results she would accept it.

"But..." Hiruzen stammered, this was going to happen whether he agreed or not, as the majority of the council agreed with it.

"Speaking of the Raikage," Koharu began. "Should Konoha really enter the exams held at Kumo. After what they did to the Hyuuga two years ago."

The four remembered the events that transpired two years ago. The head ninja of Kumo had been ordered by the Raikage to retrieve the Byakugan, by kidnapping the Hyuuga princess, Hinata, he had been caught by her father, Hiashi and promptly killed, however Kumo stated they gave no such order and demanded Hiashi's blood as retribution. Hizashi Hyuuga, Hiashi's twin brother, and a member of the branch family, had volunteered himself to take Hiashi's place, to protect his brother, an incredibly noble act, however he left his son, Neji alone in the world, who has begun to scorn the main branch.

"We must hold our head's high." Hiruzen spoke. "For Hizashi's sake. He sacrificed his life so there wouldn't be any needless blood shed between Konoha and Kumo. We should respect that."

The elders nodded in agreement. The man had given his life for the good of the village, even though he didn't have to.

"And what of Orochimaru, his defection three years ago wasn't easy, that stupid agreement between Minato and him will definitely come back to haunt us." Danzō spoke.

Hiruzen remembered when he found out about Orochimaru's continued experiments, it was heartbreaking, the man had defected three years ago, when Hiruzen stumbled upon one of Orochimaru's laboratories in Konoha, the room was sickening, Human bodies hung on the walls like some kind of twisted décor. And in the middle of the room was Orochimaru, his prized student in the middle of one of his experiments, Hiruzen decided that he should deal with Orochimaru, not Minato, he was his student and he failed him. He then failed himself as he couldn't bring himself to kill his most beloved, prized student and Orochimaru escaped. That shamed him so. Orochimaru left with a number of forbidden jutsu in his knowledge.

"I wouldn't worry about Orochimaru" Hiruzen said. "He may have left with those jutsu, but he is strong, I seriously doubt someone could steal them from him, the only way someone will learn those jutsu is if Orochimaru teaches them, which he won't do without gaining something valuable in return, you remember that Orochimaru was never the type to share power. And I also believe that Orochimaru was slightly scared of Minato, although he never showed it, he won't dare to make an attack on the village until Minato is dead, until then he can use his _**Hiraishin**_ to warp anywhere."

"Very well then." Homura responded. "We shall inform Minato of our decision."

**-Break-**

Minato was furious. The elders had decided that Naruto must enter the academy after the Chunin exams. It was either that or Naruto joins ROOT. He already understood that Naruto must accompany him to the Chunin exams, but he didn't expect him to participate for at least two years. It also felt unnatural to separate twins. As Naruto would be entering the academy in five months, however due to the promise he made Kushina, Mito would not, she would enter at aged seven.

But that was only one of his worries, his other, though harmless, was the fact Itachi and Naruto had been spending time together, which had been getting more frequent and for longer periods of time. Itachi was Teihaku's best friend, what if he told Naruto of his existence. He brushed the thought off, Itachi was probably just looking after Naruto for Teihaku. _'But Itachi never spends nearly as much time with Mito as he does with Naruto' _Minato thought as the thought creeped back on him. The boy was fiercely loyal to Konoha, he obeyed every rule Konoha made. He wouldn't betray Minato.

**-Break-**

Naruto sat alone on the swing set, saddened, he watched the other kids playing ninja, his sister had dragged him here to play with her friends, he wanted to play with them. But they had told him that there were too many players. So he had to wait until the next game.

What Naruto didn't know was that they were doing what their parents had told them to do. 'Be nice to Naruto, but also stay away from him'. Their parents also told them to become best friends with Mito, she seemed like the safer one to be with, plus she had brighter eyes, ones that let everyone approach her without worry, unlike her brother, who always seemed to be contemplating something.

Unknown to them, Naruto had been thinking about how the children's parents looked at him and Mito. When with Mito they would beam at both of them and call them adorable. But when Naruto was alone, their smile seemed almost...forced. When he darted his eyes to them when they walked past, he could swear what he saw in their eyes was fear, and sometimes disgust. Had he done something wrong, was he not living up to their expectations. He was thinking about this so hard that he didn't even realise that the children had finished their game of ninja. He looked and saw that they were gathering around picking new teams. Finally it was his time to play, he got up and started walking up to the group.

"That was so fun!" A random child exclaimed. "Let's start a new game right away!"

"Alright, let's get Naru-nii over here." Mito happily yelled as she looked over to her brother, who was already walking over to them.

"Aww, but Mito, there's equal numbers now, if Naruto joined it wouldn't be fair teams." A different boy spoke now.

"That's not fair!" Mito shouted, defending her brother. "You promised that Naruto could play this time, so why can't he!"

Naruto had picked up on the conversation at this point, they still didn't want him to play with them. He listened to Mito defend him with all her might, but the others just refused everything she said. Finally, he realised that nothing they could say would change their minds.

"It's okay Mito" Naruto sighed sadly. "Just go have fun, I'll just head home." He finished as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away.**(2)**

Mito was about to respond when everyone else crowded around her, begging her to be on their team, she tried calling out to her brother, to tell him to come back, but she couldn't yell over the noise of this crowd, she could swear she saw a tear leave her brother's face as he walked away.

**-Break-**

Naruto was walking through the streets, not really caring as the citizens walked past smiling and saying 'Hello there, Naruto-kun', being left out hurt pretty badly, he just wanted to go home and sleep the hurt off.

He barely heard someone repeatedly call out to him, it was the same person's voice, so it seemed they really needed to talk to him.

"Naruto-kun...Naruto-kun...Naruto-kun...Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun" A hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked up and saw a boy, fairly taller than he was, with black hair tied back into a ponytail and plain black eyes with large creases going from his eyes down his face to his nose. Next to him was a boy who looked exactly like him, but instead of a pony tail at the back of the hair it was spiked upwards, the smaller boy also didn't have the creases under his eyes, they were both carrying bags of groceries. It was Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha.

"Itachi-san, what do you want?" Naruto spoke downheartedly.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun, I saw you walk past and you seemed pretty miserable." Itachi spoke with a concerned smile.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Naruto spoke as he looked back to the ground.

Itachi let go of his shoulder and looked at him curiously. "Sasuke-kun, why don't you take these bags back to mom, while I talk to Naruto-kun."

Sasuke looked at the blonde boy angrily. If he was honest, he didn't like sharing his big brother, and this boy spent a lot of time with his brother. However, he realised that he could show his brother how strong he was by carrying all these heavy bags home by himself. He nodded and grabbed all the bags before he began charging home. Hoping to not look like a weakling.

After watching Sasuke charge home, he turned his attention to Naruto. "Let's go for a walk, eh Naruto-kun" Itachi smiled and grabbed the boy and headed off in a different direction.

**-Break-**

Itachi had listened to the boy's story, after getting him to crack and tell him why he was upset. If he was honest he couldn't understand how Naruto felt, he was never the one to be left out of anything, people always begged him to do things with them. It must really hurt the boy, seeing his twin sister get all the attention from the same group that denied him.

"I see, well you shouldn't let thing like that bother you, Naruto-kun." Itachi spoke. "Eventually you'll find friends that respect you and trust you with their lives. They'll come eventually, just wait." He finished with a smile.

Naruto smiled back. Everytime he had a problem Itachi always seemed to help him, was this what it felt like to have a big brother, was this how Mito felt around him. "Thanks Itachi-san." He replied. "You always help me even though you don't have too. I wish I had a big brother like you, you're smart, cool and strong, you're taking part in the Chunin exams soon right?"

Itachi nodded. "I am. And if you had a big brother, I'm sure he would be happy to have a little brother like you, I'm sure that he would want to be strong so you could keep admiring him and push yourself to beat him." Itachi spoke as he thought about Teihaku, not a word about his whereabouts yet, and the resemblance between him and Naruto were beginning to show.

They had both been talking so long that they just realised that they were outside Naruto's home. He waved Itachi goodbye and ran inside. He was just in time for dinner, at the table Mito profusely apologized to her brother and their parents questioned what she was apologizing for. Naruto just said it was okay and he didn't mind. He wasn't really paying attention. After a bath and a thorough tuck in by his mom, Naruto drifted off into quite a peaceful sleep, waiting to see what his dreams had in store for him.

***-Break-***

Naruto was currently walking through a woods, he saw a light coming closer, it revealed a clearing at the edge of the woods. A massive meadow with the wind flowing gently across it. He noticed that there was someone else here as well. A boy was sat on the ground looking up to the sky. He had never seen this boy before. He sat in just black shorts and a black shirt, what struck out about him was his spiky red hair, it was slightly longer than his dad's. He walked up towards the boy. The boy must have noticed that Naruto was approaching and looked over his shoulder. The boy appeared to be a few years older than him, probably Itachi's age, he had the same bright blue eyes as him, he looked remarkably like his dad, but with his mom's red hair. The boy smiled at him before gesturing with his hand to come closer.

"So, you finally showed up. I was getting bored, Naruto" The boy spoke calmly, with a smile.

The fact that the boy knew his name worried him. "Who are you and how do you know my name?" was all Naruto could really say.

"Naruto, I'm hurt that you don't recognise me, I've known you since you were born" The boy spoke with a frown adorned on his face. "Sit." He spoke again.

Naruto sat next to the boy and both looked out to the horizon for a while, before something clicked in Naruto's mind. "Hey! You didn't tell me who you were!" Naruto shouted at the boy.

The boy laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, sorry about that. My name's Teihaku."

"Okay Teihaku." Naruto spoke, suspicious of the boy. "So tell me how you know me? And why I've never seen you before?"

"I told you I've known you since you were born, and to answer your second question, I've been away for awhile, but I've been kept up to date about what your doing." Teihaku said with a grin, "Like when you learned how to walk and escaped from your dad's office and walked through Konoha. Butt naked."

Naruto recalled the memory of when that happened and laughed. The look on his dad's face as he chased him round Konoha, and his dad apologizing to everyone. But nearly everyone girl just thought it was adorable.

"Yeah that was good!" Naruto laughed.

"How about that little adventure with Jiraiya-jii-chan, you remember that?" Teihaku asked.

Oh yes, Naruto remembered that day. Though he didn't know why his parents were so worked up about. He had a fun day with Jiraiya as much as he could remember.

Teihaku laughed, at the face Naruto was pulling. Naruto heard Teihaku laughing and started laughing himself. He didn't know why, but he felt relaxed, secure when he was round this Teihaku guy, like he felt when he was with Itachi. He felt a bond with Teihaku but wasn't sure why. They both continued laughing and talking, until Teihaku stopped and sighed.

When Naruto looked at Teihaku's hand he saw that it was turning into dust, as well as his feet and it was spreading. "Wh-What's going on?" Naruto asked shocked.

Teihaku just looked at him and smiled. "It's just time I guess, don't worry it's fine." He finished the disintegration had spread across most of his body.

"Wait, you can't go!" Naruto shouted at Teihaku. He began crying. Teihaku continued to smile at him and closed his eyes, a tear came out his eye.

"Be strong, Naruto, and grow, grow strong and eventually you and I might meet." Teihaku spoke as he vanished, the dust blowing away in the wind.

"Oh, and remember to say hi to Mito for me, okay."

Naruto shouted at Teihaku to come back. He noticed that as soon as Teihaku disappeared, all the grass and woods had died, the place became a baron wasteland, he looked up at the sky and saw the sun and the moon colliding, turning the sky black. The ground began to crack and where the sun was, a blood red eye with a slitted pupil replaced it. The sound of a deep, dark chuckling resounded through his ears, it was frightening, he closed his eyes and screamed, he screamed for it all to go away, he screamed for his parents and his sister to come save him, he screamed for Teihaku to come back. **(3)**

***-Break-***

Naruto shot up in his bed. He was sweating badly, and his heart was beating like crazy. _'It was all just a dream'_ Naruto thought as he sighed in relief. However he couldn't help but think back to it. That Teihaku was too complex to be a dreamed up character. He knew so much about him, but he only talked about Naruto's life up to the age of two. He never went beyond that, and Teihaku's resemblance to his parents was uncanny. _'And that eye' _Naruto shook that fear out of his body, that eye was filled with blood lust and malice, that it would destroy everything if given the chance. Something clicked in his mind, _'Teihaku only spoke about my life until the age of two, and there's no pictures of me or Mito or a family photo during that time'_ he thought, as he wondered what was going on, yet his thoughts kept going back to that massive red eye, it was scaring him. He needed comfort and explanations. He decided he would do what Mito always did when she had a nightmare. Crawl into mom and dad's bed.

**-Break-**

Naruto walked down the corridor quietly, he didn't want to wake anyone up yet. He came closer to his parents room and saw that their door was slightly open, and their light was still on. He crept up quietly in case, he was interrupting something. He heard what would be the most shocking thing he would ever learn.

**-Break-**

Minato and Kushina were currently sitting in bed, neither could sleep. It always happened around this time.

"I can't believe it's almost three years since he disappeared" Kushina sighed.

"I know, I miss him constantly, I know he would have become a great leaf Shinobi, he would have become a great role model." Minato sighed in return.

Both sat in silence for a while until Minato decided that it was time he got this off his chest.

"I feel like a failed as a father" Minato spoke, he just looked at his sheets as he did. "I couldn't protect my first born son from whatever danger he was in. Then I failed him again, by not being able to find him. And now I feel like I'm failing him by not telling Naruto and Mito how much their big brother loved them."

"It wasn't your fault, Minato" Kushina spoke. "You had no idea what would happen, he just vanished, we'll find him one day, just wait, we'll have him back one day, then we can finally have a new, complete family portrait." Kushina spoke, more as if she was trying to reassure herself.

Minato smiled at her briefly before looking back down. "Where are you, Teihaku?"

**-Break-**

"Where are you, Teihaku?"

Naruto's eyes widened with shock at that last sentence. He crept away from the door, and hustled back to his room, what he had heard shocked him to his soul. He ran into his room and closed the door, he jumped onto his bed and crawled under his sheets.

_'Teihaku is real!'_ Naruto thought continuously, as his parent's conversation replayed in his mind. _'And not only that. He's my BIG BROTHER!'. _Naruto was extremely hurt, everyone kept lying to him, first the villagers with their fake smile, the those children lying about letting him play with them, and now his parents lying about his big brother's existence. He had a big brother. He and Mito had a big brother, was all that went through his head, He and Mito have a big brother, and he's disappeared. Should he tell Mito about Teihaku. Obviously his parents went through a lot to keep Teihaku a secret, it appeared so it wouldn't hurt their feelings, for that he was thankful, because it did hurt, more than anything, but the fact that his big brother was kept secret from him hurt as well. _'Mito wouldn't be able to handle this, she would cause a huge scene from it, and we can't have that. For now I'll pretend that I don't know' _Naruto thought conclusively.

However, he also knew that he needed to meet Teihaku for real. For that he would need a higher rank in the ninja system, to allow him to leave the village and search. The first thing he needed to was persuade his parents to allow him, start start the academy right away. E needed strength to find his brother.

With a new found determination, Naruto smiled.

_'Just wait for me. Teihaku Aniki'_**(4)**

**

* * *

A/N: **So that's that done, chapter five is already on the way and should be up soon XD. Hope you enjoyed it. And review please I'd like to reach my goal of 100 reviews please.

**(1): This was revealed in the manga and I thought it was a pretty cool idea, and my evidence that that the Kage had to bring a Jinchuuriki was the Chunin exam arc, where the Kazekage and Hokage showed up, but Naruto and Gaara were already participating, so is that not a sign of power.**

**(2): Although that sounds really petty, I was one of those who were left out of everything and it really hurt deeply.**

**(3): Did the dream meaning sound believable to you guys?**

**(4): Aniki = Big brother**

Okay, chapter five is the Chunin Exams in Kumo, with some special guest stars *cough*Chuck Norris*cough*, jokes.

Remember to review and vote in the poll. XD

Toodles.

**RINNE-KAMI, AWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!**


	5. Chapter 2: The Second Truth, Revealed

**A/N:** Okay, my longest chapter to date, huzzah. Let's skip the first A/N and move straight to the chapter.

Disclaimer: STILL don't own Naruto.

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_**Jutsu**_

**"Demon Speech"**__

___Flashback_**  
**

* * *

Currently Minato and his family were sitting at the table, eating dinner in silence. He had just explained that he was leaving to watch the Chunin exams in a few months and that Naruto was going with him. Kushina already knew that Naruto, as a Jinchuuriki would be accompanying Minato. But Naruto seemed incredibly pleased that he was going, Mito on the other hand seemed incredibly sad.

"Dad." She began. "Why can't I come with you and Naru-nii to Kumo?" She asked, with tears beginning to form in her eyes. Did her dad like Naru-nii more than her?

It was breaking Minato's heart to see his daughter like that, but taking her as well would be too risky, given Kumo's 'methods' of gaining new shinobi abilities. She would be at a huge risk.

"Well..." Minato began, he wasn't sure how to explain.

"Because, it's more like a father-son bonding trip." Kushina cut in, smiling at her daughter. "Afterwards, Dad will take you on a father-daughter trip, and that will be twice as fun as what Naruto is going on. Plus me and you will have a fun time here by ourselves we'll get a make over and stuff, hey, sweetie."

"Okay!" Mito chimed. Her mom made everything sound so fun, she couldn't wait.

Minato smiled at Kushina and mouthed a 'thanks for covering my back'. Kushina mouthed back a 'Your welcome'. Though they were a little worried that they made it sound that they were favouring Mito in front of Naruto.

Naruto, however, couldn't care less, he was too happy about this trip, Kumo was far away, on the road there and back and even while there he could search for clues about Teihaku's whereabouts, his dad would be so busy with the exams to notice.

**-Break-**

The next day Naruto was training in the garden, after failing 100 times to climb the tree without using his arms, he decided to focus on something else, he was a bit angry that when they were first shown it Mito got it on her first try. Yet 4 moths from then and he could still make it past one step. He was currently practicing his aim by throwing shuriken at a tree, when he felt like someone was watching him. He turned to see his dad smiling at him.

Minato had been watching his son practice the tree climbing exercise and fail, miserably. He saw a chance to get closer to his son, who had become slightly more distant, perhaps this could be a chance to find out what was the matter with him.

"Hey Naruto, why aren't you practicing the tree climbing exercise?" Minato asked.

"I wasn't making any progress, so I took a break, I'm gonna carry on later." Naruto replied.

"Oh, Well if you want, I could give you a helping hand." Minato spoke trying to keep the conversation going.

"No thank you, What kind of future, super Hokage would I be, if I received help" Naruto smirked, _'that ought to get him off my back'_.

Minato was taken back by the remark. He smiled intensely, _'So Naruto wants to follow in my footsteps then'_ he thought proudly. "Everybody needs help sometimes, I needed help when I first became a ninja, all the Hokage started out the same as you, but with the right guidance we all unlocked our true potential." Minato replied.

Naruto frowned slightly. It seemed his dad wasn't going to give up. He didn't really like speaking to his parents after finding out about Teihaku, he just didn't trust them as much now. "I don't know." Naruto began. "I'd rather find it out for myself."

Minato also frowned, Naruto was seriously trying to avoid spending time with him, he had learned that this sort of attitude happened when children were teenagers, Naruto is 5! He is much to young for this kind of behaviour. Quickly, he thought of something that would get Naruto to compromise. "Are you sure?" Minato spoke slyly. "After all, training under a Hokage is a once in a life time opportunity."

Naruto's eyes widened as soon as he said that. He got him Hook, Line and Sinker. Naruto, on the other hand realised that his dad was right. Training under a Hokage would be a huge stepping stone for him. It would bring him that much closer to finding Teihaku at a faster rate. "Okay" Naruto finally answered.

Minato smiled. "Well first, how much chakra are you using when you try to climb the tree, show me."

Naruto nodded as he went to the tree, he ran at it, his foot hit the bark and he channeled chakra to the sole of his feet. As soon as he tried to propel himself up the tree, the bark broke and he fell back down, a footprint left in the tree trunk.

Minato walked over to the tree and inspected it, nodded as he did so. "Well Naruto, these footprints indicate that you are using way to much chakra, in one go, I'd say, cut the amount you're using in half, if it's still too much a footprint will appear, it it is too little you won't stick to the tree, do it again, and we'll see how it goes from there."

Naruto nodded and ran at the tree again, this time only using half the chakra. He saw that he had taken 4 steps up the tree, before breaking the bark and tumbling back down.

"Okay, that was good, now you need to learn how to keep a steady, continuous flow of chakra running through your feet, so you can reach that branch up there" Minato pointed to the branch, it was about 5 metres high. Naruto nodded and ran again attempting to keep the flow of chakra.

They spent all day working on the exercise, finally at sunset Naruto was able to reach that branch. Minato and Naruto were sat on the patio, Minato ruffled Naruto's hair, the progress he showed was remarkable.

Although he didn't want to admit it. Naruto found this day with his dad fun. He had been taught a lot and could feel himself getting better at controlling his chakra.

"Naruto. There's something else I need to talk to you about." Minato started.

"What?" Naruto replied.

Minato sighed. He didn't know how to explain that he was separating him from Mito. "After the Chunin exams in Kumo, How would you like to enter the academy?" Minato asked.

Naruto's went wide eyed, his dad had asked him if he wanted to enter the academy earlier. "I want to!" Naruto practically shouted as he jumped up smiling.

"Great!" Minato smiled back. Inwardly sighing at the fact that that was so easy.

"Now we need to get you ready for the exams?" Minato exclaimed.

Naruto looked confused. Was he taking part in the Chunin exams.

"We need to teach you how to act in a formal way, in front of many superiors, the five Kages are all attending the exams in a few months, that hardly ever happens. So we need to get you at your best." Minato said.

Naruto went in awe. He would be meeting the five Kages, the 5 strongest Shinobi on the continent in one go. Something like this only happened once in about ten lifetimes. "Well, lets get started!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Okay!" Minato replied. "First is posture and body language..."

**-Break-**

The five months seemed to have flown by. Naruto was completely ready for the trip, his dad had taught him so much about everything, including ninja abilities and formalities. He stood next to his dad, both with backpacks on, at the gate of the village, they were saying goodbye to Kushina and Mito, however a huge amount of Konoha's populace had appeared to wave the Hokage off, "Have fun Hokage-sama!", "See you when you get back!", "Remember to tell us all about it!", were among the few things shouted, added with a few female squeals of delight when Minato waved back at them. Naruto smiled, his dad really was popular, although none of the goodbyes were for him, he still felt good.

"Well, dad, lets hit the road." Naruto exclaimed happily. He could look for Teihaku on the long walk to Kumo.

"Yeah, Let's go." Minato replied after looking back one time. He touched Naruto's shoulder and lifted his spare hand in the tiger seal.

Naruto dropped to the floor, his head was spinning, he felt like he was going to throw up, he eventually did.

"Don't worry, you get used to the effects of the _**Hiraishin.**_" Minato chuckled as he looked at his son's reaction to the jutsu.

Naruto looked around. He was outside the gates of Kumo, another leaf shinobi stood next to him and his father, who seemed perfectly fine. He looked in front of him, there was one of his dad's special kunai, _'The cheat' _Naruto thought, he was fuming, his dad caused him to bypass an entire session of looking for Teihaku due to his stupid space/time Jutsu. He looked up at his dad and gave him an angry glare.

"Mission accomplished, sir!" The random leaf shinobi called. "The special tag was set outside Kumo's gates, as ordered!" He finished with a salute.

"Thank you." Minato smiled, he looked down at his son to see if he recovered, he was giving him and angry stare, Minato laughed off the stare. "What? You thought we were walking?" Minato asked curiously.

Before he could respond, a hulk of a man crashed in front of him, Naruto panicked, saying the man in front of him was huge would be a understatement. The man had on Kage garbs, which barely covered anything. He wore black shinobi pants with a gold belt, shaped like a lion, on his arms he has to huge gold gauntlets. He was dark skinned and his huge muscles twitched with every movement, on his shoulders were two tattoos of Fuma shuriken, his head was adorned, with blond hair, pulled back into cornrows, his face had a small blonde mustache and a beard, complete with a few wrinkles, what caught Naruto's attention was the yellow hat on his head, with the symbol for lightning on the front._ 'So this guy's the Raikage' _Naruto thought as he looked at the man, then at his dad, who seemed to glare at the man for a second before smiling.

"Hokage Minato. You're early!" The Raikage shouted. "Perhaps you came to have a small spar with me, to see who truly is the fastest of the fast" The Raikage bellowed as he started laughing.

"Raikage A" Minato said calmly, Naruto noted the slight anger in his dad's voice. "I came early to organise a final few changes to the exams. None of the Hyuuga will be participating in this exam, can't say I blame them after what happened. And the only kekkei genkai user entering will be under heavy protection." Minato finished.

A humphed, he understood Minato's little jibe at him. "Very well, we'll go to my office" A spoke as he began walking to the tallest mountain in Kumo.

**-Break-**

Naruto, Minato and A were currently sitting in A's office. Finalising the plans for the Chunin exams. While Minato and A spoke. Naruto was told to be quiet through out the meeting, and he was bored out his mind, Kumo looked like a fun place to explore but he wasn't allowed to leave the office. Just when he thought he was going to die of boredom, Kami sent Naruto some sort of miracle.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Shouted a huge man as he burst into the room. He stood up straight and began imitating a at box.

'Yo, Yo, The name's Killer Bee!

The perfect Jinchuuriki!

Host of the Eight-tails!

Whose control never fails!

I'm not a man imma beast!

Mess with me you'll be deceased!'

The man finished crossing his arms over and striking a pose. Minato and A sweat dropped at the bad rapping, however Naruto looked at this Killer Bee with nothing but awe. _'This guy is so cooool!' _was all Naruto thought as he looked at the man.

The man, like the Raikage was dark skinned, he had a pair of sunglasses on and a tattoo of a horn under his left eye. His head, also like the Raikage was adorned with blonde cornrows and a blonde beard. He had a Kumo forehead protector tied around his head. The man wore a sleeveless Kumo flak jacket and blue shinobi pants with a white rope tied around them. On his right shoulder was a tattoo of the kanji for iron. On his back were SEVEN swords! All sheathed and going in different directions. Killer Bee smiled at his brother.

"Yo, brother, wotcha doing with this fool" Killer Bee stated.

A smacked his forehead, his brother was a complete idiot. "Minato, this is my younger brother Bee, Bee this is Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage" A stated in return.

"I know who that fool is!" Bee shouted. "I was talking about the the little fool who looks just like the big fool."

A and Minato sweat dropped again. _'This guy's worse than sensei'_ Minato thought. "Bee-san, this is my son, Naruto Namikaze, Naruto this is-"

"I'm Naruto nice to meet ya!" Naruto shouted as he introduced himself to the man. He felt connected to him some how. "I gotta say that you are so cool!" He beamed.

A seemed to mumble something that sounded something like 'Don't encourage him'. Bee smiled in return at the kid. "I already know that, but you're not such a fool after all, noticing how awesome I am, bump fists with me." Bee said as he knelt down to Naruto's height and held out his fist.

Naruto grinned and tapped the man's huge fist with his own. "That was a good fist bump, You alright kid." Bee said.

"**BEE!**" The Hachibi**(1)** shouted within Bee's mind. "**Don't get too comfortable with this kid, he's the host of the Kyuubi, and I don't sense any control over him, I don't think the kid even realises that he's got it sealed inside him, be careful, Kyuubi is a bastard.**" The Hachibi warned.

_'Don't worry eight-o, nine-o don't scare me' _Bee responded within his mind.

"Bro, the other Kage are arriving" Bee spoke out loud now.

"Then go welcome them." A responded, he wanted his brother out the room.

"Dad!" Naruto shouted. "Can I go with Mr. Bee to watch the Kages arrive, please." Naruto pleaded.

"It's up to him if he wants you to tag along with him." Minato spoke.

"It's cool with me, just keep the volume level to a three" Bee rapped in return.

Naruto yelled in glee and followed the man out. Leaving Minato and A in the room.

"So that's the Eight-tailed Giant Ox's host" Minato spoke.

"And that's the Nine-tailed Demon Fox's host, at least you followed tradition by having a host being a direct family member of a Kage." A replied.

**-Break-**

Naruto stood waiting impatiently at the gates of Kumo with Bee, waiting for the Kages to arrive, these were the five strongest shinobi in the world. It was such an honour to meet them face-to-face, and in a single day.

The first to arrive was a young man, younger than his dad, the man had unkempt gray hair and had pink pupil-less eyes which had an unusually dull expression to them. He appeared to have a stitch-like scar running down from his left eye all the way down his face. He was wearing the Kage robes, with a blue sash in the middle. On his back were two things a blue Kage hat, similar to his dad's and the Raikage's, with the symbol for water on it, the other was a huge staff-like weapon, with a large hook on one end, accompanied by a green flower, and a smaller hook at the other end. The man walked up to Naruto and Bee and eyed them both.

"Mizukage Yagura, my man. Big bro and the Hokage are waiting at his office." Bee exclaimed, he was still incredibly laid back, but his voice did sound more formal. "Where's your Jinchuuriki?" Bee asked.

_'Jinchuuriki? What's a Jinchuuriki? That's the second time he said it'_ Naruto thought.

"I am my own Jinchuuriki" Yagura stated monotonously, before walking on to meet the other Kages.

"That's cool, that's cool.." Bee spoke confused as he watched the Mizukage walk on.

They waited for the next Kage to arrive, in the distance, two figures appeared. _'This must be the next one' _Naruto thought impatiently.

The next to arrive was an old man who was incredibly short, Naruto was taller than him! His facial features included a triangular beard and a mustache with angular corners. He had a big red nose and thick eyebrows, they had to be the thickest eyebrows Naruto had ever seen, well except for that guy who was sometimes with Kakashi. The top of his head was completely bald, although he had some hair at the back and sides of his head, the back of which was tied with a yellow ribbon into a ponytail. All of his hair (ponytail, sideburns, facial) was white. On his back was another Kage hat, this one was brown and had the symbol for stone on it.

What scared Naruto was the man walking with him. The man dwarfed Bee. He was covered from his feet up to the bottom half of his face with red armour, with a kind of lump on the back of the armour, which was releasing steam. He had brown eyes that seemed pretty angry. Aside from his red armor, he also wore a red straw hat that also seemed to be composed of metal. Over his armor, He wore black vest, with the sleeves seemingly torn off and black gloves.

Both of the men walked over to Naruto and Bee, they nodded at Bee, however, when they looked at Naruto, The short man's stare seemed to harden, while the large man's seemed to relax.

"Tsuchikage Onoki boss!" Bee smiled. This man had had numerous arguments and fights with his brother, he was almost like family. "Big bro, the Hokage and the Mizukage are waiting for you in his office."

"I see, thank you Bee." Onoki spoke. "Han, stay with Bee here." He ordered as he walked on, shooting one last glare at Naruto.

The huge man, named Han, nodded at the Tsuchikage and walked up and stood next to Naruto, Naruto was currently stood in between this Han and Bee, he felt like such a midget! _'I can't wait till I'm that tall and dwarf everyone else'_ Naruto thought as he looked up at Han, who caught his stare and stared back. Naruto gulped and focused his attention forwards, waiting for the last Kage to arrive.

Finally the last to arrive was a man wearing a cloth over his face, only his hardened and cold eyes could be seen, over the op of his head was his Kage hat, which was green and had the symbol for wind on it, he had on the Kage robes, with a green sash running vertically down the middle.

Next to him was a small boy, about Naruto's age. He had spiky red hair and teal pupil-less eyes, what was weird was the black rings going round his eyes, _'He must have real bad nightmares'_ Naruto thought. He was wearing a light green like robe with a high collar around his neck, underneath was a white shirt and, he had blue shorts as well. The boy seemed quite scared to be here.

They both walked up to them as the other Kages did. They looked at Bee, who responded.

"Kazekage Sekizen**(2)** dude" Bee spoke, the man's eyes seemed to harden even more, as if insulted. "Bro and the other Kages are waiting in his office, you're the last one to arrive."

The man nodded, before turning to the small boy. "Gaara." He spoke harshly, making the boy jump, as he trembled to meet the man in his eyes. "Stay with these, people." He spoke, although it sounded more like an order.

"Yes, father" The boy spoke weakly as he watched his father's figure disappeared.

"Whoa! You're a Kage's son too, you're just like me!" Naruto beamed at the boy, his red hair reminded him of Teihaku, so he felt compelled to connect with him.

"Yes I am, You're the son of Kage?" Gaara responded, the boy was being too nice to him, he must not know what he was.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I'm the son of the Yondaime Hokage." He smiled, he didn't notice Han's eyes slightly harden at the statement. "And Bee here's the brother of the Raikage, how cool is that! Hey Han are you related to the Tsuchikage?"

Han nodded. "Yes, but not this one, he is the Sandaime Tsuchikage. I am the grandson of the Nidaime Tsuchikage." Han stated as matter of fact, his voice was deep and sounded kinda ticked off.**(3)**

"And it appears that Yagura is the Mizukage too. So the tradition of the Jinchuuriki being related to a Kage remains true." Killer Bee rhymed as he wrote the awesome rhyme he just spit in his notebook.

_'All these are Jinchuuriki too.'_ Gaara thought as he looked around, that was why they didn't scorn him, they were just like him. He never felt so relaxed. The Shukaku also seemed to quieten in their presence.**(4)**

_'What the heck's a Jinchuuriki' _Naruto thought too himself, all these people nodded so they knew what it was, why didn't he!

"But my big bro's the best yo. You're stupid idiot Kage's got no chance against him." Bee shouted loudly.

"Tsuchikage may be old, yet his Dust release jutsu is extremely strong, I doubt your Kage's could defeat it." Han spoke quietly.

"My father is pretty strong too, and his jutsu are incredibly strong, your Kages would have a hard time against him." Gaara spoke, defending his father.

"Oh yeah! Well my dad's so super cool and awesome, you guys got no chance against him, once he activates his signature jutsu. SPLAT! Your taken out in the blink of an eye!" Naruto shouted waving his arms around.

"Yeah, but my brother's got me backing him, the perfect Jinchuuriki, with full control over his beast." Bee exclaimed. "Your little team ups will be blown away by our double lariat."

"I hear the Mizukage has perfect control as well over the Three-tails." Han stated. "Plus I'm close to perfect control, so it wouldn't be easy."

"Yeah well the Mizukage's just one person you stupid idiot. And having near control's different than having full control" Bee argued back.

Gaara remained silent, he didn't want them to know how much the Ichibi scared him. These two spoke about their demons proudly and confidently, did they not experience what he did?

"What about you Blondie?" Bee spoke to Naruto. "I thought the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi would have something to say about a Kage/Jinchuuriki mash up brawl."

"Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi? What are you talking about?" Naruto stood confused.

"Yeah. Aren't you Konoha's Jinchuuriki, the host of the Kyuubi. It attacked there 5 years ago. And it's tradition for the Jinchuuriki to be the direct family of a Kage, yo. So the don't go traitor you know. That's why your with the Hokage, right. As a way to show off his might." Bee spoke nonchalantly. Not realising that he informed Naruto of something that he didn't know himself.

Naruto took a step back in shock. The Kyuubi attacked five years ago, he was five. The Jinchuuriki was traditionally direct family of a Kage, he was the Hokage's son. He had seen a picture of the Kyuubi, it's eyes were the same as the one he saw in his dream. This explained why the villagers looked at him scared sometimes. They were still scared of the Kyuubi. Naruto's eyes started welling up with tears as he ran away, straight to the hotel where he and his dad were staying.

**-Break-**

Minato came to the hotel room tired, he had been speaking with the other Kages about the participants and exams all day. He saw a light was still on. 'Naruto must be awake waiting for me'. He thought as he walked into the room. Naruto was sat on a bed, curled up and hugging his knees. "Hi Naruto." Minato said.

"Dad." Naruto spoke sadly "Am I a Jinchuuriki, I mean, Am I the host of the Kyuubi?"

Minato was shocked at the question. How could Naruto possibly find out about the Jinchuuriki, unless, he spent all day with the other Jinchuuriki, could they had talked about it without knowing Naruto was oblivious to his condition. "What do you mean?" Minato spoke, hoping for a slight chance that it might just be in Naruto's head.

"Bee said." Naruto sniffled. "That I am the host of the Kyuubi, that the reason I'm here with you is to show off your power as Hokage, like Bee, Han and Gaara. The Kyuubi attacked the village five years ago, I was born 5 years ago. Bee said it was tradition for the Jinchuuriki to be direct relatives of the Kage and I'm your son. Is it true?" Naruto asked again.

Minato sighed. This wasn't in his head. Bee must had explained it to Naruto thinking Naruto already knew. He sat down next to his son, putting his hand on his back. "Naruto, It's true I'm afraid." He spoke solemnly, Naruto's head shot up and looked him in the eyes, tears getting ready to stream out his eyes, Minato felt close to crying himself. "The Kyuubi attacked 5 years ago, and I had no choice but to seal it in you, not because you were my family, but because I knew you would be strong enough to keep it held in. Don't you see Naruto, you're a hero, no matter what anyone says." Minato finished with a small smile.

Naruto didn't look impressed. Another thing was kept from him. "Why didn't you tell me?" Naruto asked again, angrily, the tears now leaving his eyes. "WHY DOES NO ONE TELL ME ANYTHING!" Naruto shouted as he ran out the room.

"Naruto!" Minato called out to his son, but Naruto had already ran out the room, he decided Naruto needed a bit of time, it was a shocking revelation to him. He would go to find him in a few minutes.

**-Break-**

Mito was currently putting her mom's long hair into one big plat. They spent the entire day have a girl's day out, which included going shopping and having make overs, they were sitting on her mom's bed when Mito suddenly felt weird. She noticed that sometimes people looked weirdly at her brother, like they were scared of him.

"Mom?" Mito asked. "Why do people sometimes look at Naruto like he's something to be scared of?"

Kushina sighed, so Mito noticed it too. She might be ready to know the truth about her brother. Although she wanted to wait until they were older to tell them. "Mito, what I'm about to tell you is between us, you can;t repeat it to anyone unless you ask Naruto's permission, do you understand? It's super-duper secret."

Mito nodded, a super-duper secret.

"You're brother is a Jinchuuriki, what that means is he has the Kyuubi sealed inside him, it attacked 5 years ago and your dad had no choice but to seal it within him. But don't worry, your brother is still Naruto. Everything he says and does is him and him alone" Kushina finished.

Mito looked down sadly. "Poor Naru-nii, having to have a monster sealed inside him."

Kushina smiled at her daughter, at least she understood that her brother wasn't being controlled by the Kyuubi. She held out little finger. "Pinky promise not to tell."

Mito smile and nodded, grabbing her mom's pinky with her own. "Promise."

**-Break-**

Naruto had been sitting on the roof of the hotel crying for a while now. It had all been so horrible to learn. He had a monster sealed inside him. And he didn't get a choice in the matter. He was crying so much that he failed to realise that he was not alone on the roof.

Gaara had been watching the boy cry for a while now, what could have got him so upset. He was scared to approach him. Every time he tried people told him to go away, but he felt like he should comfort the boy, he walked over and tapped the boy on the shoulder.

"Why are you crying?" Gaara asked. It was a simple question.

"Oh, Gaara." Naruto responded. "I just found out something horrible, that I'm a Jinchuuriki and that it was my dad that sealed the monster in me."

Gaara looked at the boy before sitting down next to him. The boy was just like him. "Me too, my father sealed the Shukaku into me. It was horrible to find out that I had a monster sealed inside me."

"How do they treat you in your village?" Naruto asked the boy.

Gaara shifted nervously. "They tell me I'm a monster and just a weapon, that a demon like me doesn't deserve the love of anyone. What about you?"

"They smile and say hello, but when they walk past, their eyes show fear, and sometime disgust. I think their was a rule to not tell me. But that's not nearly as bad as yours. I'm sorry." Naruto spoke, wiping his tears, Gaara had it much worse than him. "Do you have any siblings?" He asked.

"Yes, an older brother and an older sister. But they don't like me much, our mom died giving birth to me, so I think that they hate me for that. Do you have any siblings?" Gaara returned the question.

"Yes, a younger sister...and an older brother, but he's missing at the moment, but I'm gonna find him, my sister is nice to me, she is my only friend, her friends don't like me much." Naruto answered.

"I don't have any friends at all." Gaara spoke quietly and sadly.

"I'll be your friend Gaara!" Naruto said with a smile.

Gaara was shocked, someone wanted to be HIS friend. "But I don't even know your name."

Naruto stood up and grinned, extending his hand. "Name's Naruto!"

Gaara stood up after, following the blond's idea he extended his hand to grab the blond's. Naruto shook their hands fast. Gaara smiled, his first friend. "Hello Naruto, I'm Gaara." Was his only reply.

Naruto thought about what Gaara told him and about his own life in Konoha, he didn't have it nearly as bad as Gaara, he would never forget that. His mind drifted to what his dad said earlier, _"Don't you see Naruto, you're a hero, no matter what anyone says."_

"You know what Gaara." Naruto spoke, getting the red head's attention. "We are heroes, no matter what anyone says, we are protecting the village from the demons. Let's never forget that." He finished with a smile

Gaara smiled. _'A hero'_, no one had ever called him that. It felt good, heart warming.

Naruto knew he needed to apologize to his dad. So he said goodbye to his first true friend, and went back to the hotel. To find his dad about to leave to look for him. He immediately apologized for the way he reacted. And that he understood and accepted what he was. A Jinchuuriki and A hero.

**-Break-**

Itachi stood in the crowd of Genin, spotting the hardest competition. This exam consisted of one test: Three-on-three team fights. To test teamwork and shared strength and possible leadership within teams. He looked over two his two teammates. A girl with her brown hair pulled back. Wearing tight shorts and a white shirt. Two red fangs were marked on her cheeks, at her heel were three ash coloured ninja dogs. Hana Inuzuka and Her ninja dog companions. She nodded at him and he nodded back. This was already an advantage. Her three dogs meant six fighters for their team.

His other teammate was useful as well, as he knew basic medical jutsu, the boy was older than him, and wore purple shorts with a purple shirt. His gray hair tied back as well. Glasses going over his black coloured eyes. Kabuto Yakushi. It was all their first time competing and this wasn't their original team, so they were nervous. Itachi had skipped ahead and was trained alone by his clan, until this exams.

**-Break-**

A boy, only about eight years of age with long blonde hair tied back, one huge bang going over his left eye. His eyes were blue in colour. He wore simple brown clothing and had an Iwa headband tied around his forehead. He was looking around for the strongest opponents, so he knew who to crush.

"Deidara, let's go." His significantly older teammate called out to him.

"I'm coming, hn." Deidara exclaimed. "Just looking for competition, hn."

"You need to stop with that grunt noise, Deidara." His other teammate said as the walked to their designated waiting area.

**-Break-**

Another boy, this time around eleven years old, with sleek silver hair, going backwards, with angry, purple eyes, looked around. A Yugakure**(5) **headband was tied around his neck, his simple black shinobi clothes weren't the eye catcher. What was the eye catcher was the single bladed scythe strapped to his back. His eyes darted from person to person.

"They all think that Yugakure's weak, I'll show them fucking idiots" He stated to himself. There were bad rumors circulating throughout Yugakure. That the Daimyo and the head of the village were planning to resign as a shinobi village and transform into a tourist attraction site. It was sickening to him.

"Hidan! Let's go!" The leader of the team shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, you bastard!" Hidan shouted back as he walked over to his teammates.

**-Break-**

The exams were almost over and Naruto had had fun watching them compete, some teamwork was just awful. It was no surprise to him that Itachi's team had made it through to the final fight. Although his gray haired teammate had been injured pretty badly it seemed. And he was currently watching a fight between a team from Iwa and a team from Kumo, whoever won this would have to fight Itachi in the final.

"I have to say Onoki." Minato began. "That Deidara is impressive." Minato spoke as he watched the boy fight, for an eight year old he was controlling the match perfectly, however the Kumo team had better teamwork than the Iwa team.

"I agree, to create _**mud clones**_, then secretly adding explosive tags to them. To send them in and attack, then detonate when attacked themselves is nothing short of genius, plus due to being made out of mud, there is a continuous supply and regeneration of them." Yagura stated. "He has my recommendation for promotion whether he wins or loses this match."

Onoki smiled as he looked down at Deidara, the boy had attracted the attention of to Kage, one of which he despised for beating him in the war.

"However, the match appears to be in Kumo's favour." Sekizen spoke as the match concluded, Deidara having been teamed up upon by the Kumo squad after his teammates were knocked out. Onoki growled, so Konoha or Kumo would take this exam. Although Deidara had earned a promotion.

Once the applause for Kumo's win and Deidara's display of strength wore off. A announced that he final match would commence shortly. A medic nin ran up to Minato and gave him some rather unfortunate rules.

"I'm sorry." Minato began. "It appears that Kabuto can no longer participate, without a full team to begin the match, Konoha will have to forfeit the final match."

"Well. It looks like Kumo takes the gold again!" A shouted pleased.

"Wait." Yagura began. "It would be an unfortunate waste to see talent such as Itachi Uchiha and Hana Inuzuka, who have worked so far to reach the final to forfeit, there is another way for them to participate." Yagura finished.

It appeared to be Yagura, however, this was not the case, Yagura had gone under Madara Uchiha, The REAL Yondaime Mizukage's mind control technique the night before. And Madara had never seen someone like Itachi, he was much stronger than himself at that age, he had to check to make sure he wasn't a potential threat to himself.

"How? I have no more Genin and Genin cannot switch teams during exams." Minato asked, confused.

"There is one last free Konoha shinobi." Yagura stated as his eyes darted to Naruto. Madara also wanted to see what kind of control the boy could take over the Kyuubi.

Minato noticed the look to Naruto. "Naruto? But he is not even an academy student yet, he can't participate."

"Do you not remember, Zabuza Momochi, from my village, who passed the exam, without even being an academy student, and our exam is much more brutal than these exams." Yagura stated.

This silenced the Kage's. "I agree, what about the time before the villages, when the shinobi rose up from nothing but their own potential, such as Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha and Monzaemon Chikamatsu. The boy could be like nothing ever seen." Sekizen agreed, although he wanted to see if this Jinchuuriki would become a threat to Suna in the future.

"Yes, give the boy the option of competing now" Onoki agreed, although he was hoping the Kumo shinobi would go all out on him, critically injuring him, maybe even killing him.

With three of the Kage agreeing Minato and A had no choice to agree. They walked over to Naruto where he was sat watching the field. Minato instantly got his son's attention.

"Naruto, due to Kabuto's injury, Itachi's team may have to forfeit, you are the only available Konoha shinobi who could possibly fill in for him." Minato started.

"But I'-"

"I know you are not even in the academy yet, but sometimes exceptions are made. If you compete, Itachi and Hana still may pass." Minato moved closer to the question.

"So Naruto, do you want to compete in one match, for the chance of skipping Academy, skipping Genin and jumping straight to Chunin?"

* * *

**A/N: Was the ending believable? I mean I just made it up, and thinking about how Zabuza did it it sound believable. I don't really like this chapter, i feel like in didn't bring out the full emotion of it. I wanted to add a few younger members as well, so I hope you enjoyed, Deidara's and Hidan's cameo. I got them at the right age i think and i didn't say when they were promoted to chunin. But neither of them did now so it doesn't matter.**

**(1) - Eight-tails**

**(2) - Means Lonely or Desolate i think, if I'm wrong correct me please.**

**(3) - Made up that relationship. But Han is real.**

**(4) - The Ichibi is the weakest bijuu so i think it would be afraid of the other a bit, especially Kyuubi.**

**(5) - Village Hidden in the steam.**

**A/N2: Right next chapter will be up 10th october, officially starting my 1 chapter per month policy. It will feature things that happened in the manga, things that don't depends on the poll for Uchiha massacre, which reults I'm taking in on the 5th so get you're vote in please.**

**new poll: should Naruto enter the exam with Itachi now, Yes? oder No? results will be taken in on the 5th as well. So till next time. Review pleeeease!**

**Rinne-Kami AWAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!**


	6. Chapter 3: The Era of Reunion Begins

**A/N: **Yo everybody, can I get a Hey Ho!...Apparently not. Anyway, two days early, sorry, but I finished it and it would just be lying around, so thought "Hey why don't I publish it. So here we go.

Disclaimer: STILL don't own Naruto

"Speech"

_'Think'_

_**Jutsu**_

* * *

A stood out on the balcony and held up his arms. The crowd instantly silenced, they were growing impatient, this final match was taking to long to commence.

"People. Due to an unfortunate injury Kabuto Yakushi of Konoha cannot compete in the final round against my Kumo team!" A shouted to the crowd.

The crowd gasped together. There were not getting a final match.

"However, a Konoha nin not registered has agreed to take his place in the final match, for a chance of promotion!" A shouted again.

Waves of booing resounded through the crowd. Arguing that whoever it was shouldn't have a chance of promotion as they have hardly done any work.

"SILENCE!" A yelled. "The boy taking his place is Naruto Namikaze, the son of the Yondaime Hokage, he is just five years old and shows massive power. He will be a one time exception!"

The crowd sat in silence for a moment. They would be seeing the Yondaime Hokage's son fight one of his first fights. The honour was astounding to them. The boos turned to cheers and began requesting the for the match to begin.

"Introducing, Kumo's finest team this year. Under the tutelage of my brother himself. Karui, Samui and Omoi!" A shouted as a gate opened. The three Chunin hopefuls stepped in.

One was a girl with dark skin and long red hair, held back with a Kumo headband. She had amber eyes as well. She wore a black dress like clothing, with a sword strapped to her back.

Another girl also appeared. This one with pale white skin, With short blonde hair and blue eyes, she seemed very bored with it all. She wore a green shirt and a black skirt.

The final member was male. He had dark skin and white hair. His black eyes seemed to be contemplating something. He wore a black jacket and black pants. His Kumo headband was tied around his head and had a sword strapped to his back.

Many of the audience cheered when they entered. The red haired member of the team seemed to be shouting at the boy. Over what was unknown because the roar of the crowd silenced them.

A held up his hands again, silencing them.

"And now! From Konoha, their finest team this year! I give you...Itachi Uchiha! Hana Inuzuka! and Naruto Namikaze!" A shouted, much like a sportscaster.

The cheers for Konoha matched the cheers for Kumo as the gate opened.

**-Break-**

Naruto stood in between Hana and Itachi trembling. This would be his first proper fight, he had been in spars, but here the intention was to kill. He only accepted so his dad would look strong in front of the other Kages, plus he didn't want to make Itachi have to wait for another 6 months to become a Chunin.

Hana looked at the boy, he was obviously scared. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun." She spoke sweetly. "Me and Itachi-san will protect you."

This seemed to help the boy, if only a little bit. Itachi turned to him as well. "Hana and I will deal with them, Naruto-kun, you just stay back and provide back up."

The doors opened as they walked out onto the field, the cheers were deafening to Naruto, the Kumo team was already there, waiting to begin the fight. Everyone silenced and looked at the Raikage.

"BEGIN!"

Hana instantly charged forward with her three canine partners, she activated her version of the _**Dual Piercing Fang**_, the _**Quadruple Piercing Fang**_. She attacked in the centre, separating the Kumo team. They spread out across the field and drew their swords, ready to attack.

Naruto jumped backwards and formed a cross with his two hands, using the index and middle finger on each hand.

"_**Shadow Clone Jutsu!**_" Naruto cried, ten clones popped into existence. The spectators seemed shocked at the number of clones, after all 10 was above average. Naruto positioned his clones to make a wall between him and the fight. Hana seemed to be living up to the Inuzuka reputation, currently blitzing everything near her with her jutsu. Naruto looked over to Itachi, who hadn't moved at all. Out of nowhere, Omoi and Karui charged Itachi. Itachi still stood still as the two Kumo nins closed the gap on him, they began a flurry of sword attacks together, which were in perfect coordination. Thankfully, Itachi drew a kunai and activated the prized Sharingan.

Itachi met the attacks of the two Kumo nins with dodges and parries. Naruto looked closer and saw that while the Kumo nins weren't striking Itachi, Itachi wasn't counter attacking, he was just dodging every attack they made. Naruto concluded that, if they really are Bee's students, then they are going to have massive amounts of energy, Itachi would tire out before they did. He had to wait for an opportunity to attack one of them, he looked at Hana, who with her three dogs wasn't have much trouble with Samui, effectively rendering her unable to move by constantly drilling where she was planning to move to.

His attention returned to Itachi, who was about to be struck at a blind spot, his arms blocking Omoi's sword and Karui charging him from behind. Naruto sped forward, with quite impressive speed, using a clone as a platform Naruto jumped into the air.

Karui was taken off guard by the blondes sudden interference. She saw the boy was coming in from above. A simple mistake, he had no way of defending himself. She lined herself up, ready to strike the blonde down. A fist suddenly connected to her face, with a lot of force behind it.

Naruto smirked as his clone punched her in the face, she had been so preoccupied with him in the air, she forgot about the clones running at her on the floor. He had her trapped, if she focused on the clones he would attack from above, if she focused on him the clones would attack, and she got caught. "Your mistake was not keeping check of the entire battlefield!" Naruto shouted. Another clone jumped in front of him and Naruto used it as a platform, sailing high into the air again.

The clones began a barrage of punches and kicks against Karui, who after the first strong punch of the five year old went into a slight daze, one that she could not recover from before he continued his attack. Limbs shot at her from every direction. The final one sending her backwards onto the floor.

Naruto came flying down with force, he dropped his leg right onto her stomach, blood launched itself out the red haired girl's mouth before her eyes closed quite unnaturally, she passed out.

**-Break-**

"WHHAATT!" A screamed. "The kid actually knocked Karui out!"

Some of the other Kages stood slightly shocked as well, a five year old, who hadn't even entered the academy, managed to successfully knock out a full fledged Genin.

The Tsuchikage looked at Naruto with scorn, the speed and power he used to attack the Kumo girl, he suspected that that was what it was like to watch a young Minato Namikaze train. _'The boy's well on his way to becoming like his father.'_ He thought quite scornfully.

Minato looked at his son, he knew that his son was fast and strong, but he wasn't expecting Naruto to move that quick. Was Naruto training more than he saw, or did he figure out the Shadow Clone secret.

Madara, through Yagura's eyes watched Naruto land and immediately move towards Itachi, and began a teamed effort against Omoi, where Naruto would catch him and Itachi planted him inside a Genjutsu, and a strong one at that. His eyes lingered on the young Uchiha, throughout this fight he had not made one attack against them, not even a attack in self defense, he just blocked, the Genjutsu was the only thing he used. _'A peaceful Uchiha? Well I'll be damned' _Madara thought quite bemused.

But the way that Naruto moved. It made the battle wound on his back act up again. His eyes shifted to the boys father, the inflicter of the wound, when he drove that accursed Rasengan into his back five years ago. He looked so proud of his son, but Madara did not lose his composure and attack Minato in a blind rage, no. He remained calm, for he knew that he would kill them both eventually.

His thoughts returned to the match, the Inuzuka girl just drove two _**Piercing Fangs**_ into the last remaining Kumo nin, knocking her out. Konoha won this exam it seemed.

**-Break-**

Naruto stood panting, catching the Kumo boy was hard, he was extremely fast, but if animals taught humans anything, it's that no matter how fast the prey, if the predators work in a pack, it will be caught. The same principal applied to Hana, who drove two _**Piercing Fangs**_ into the surviving Kumo nin. Promptly knocking her out.

Naruto looked around, he counted each of the unconscious Kumo nin. Three, they had knocked out all three. Just when Naruto was about to question his own mathematical skills and count again, A shouted.

"All three Kumo nin are no longer able to compete!" He spoke with slight anger and annoyance. "Therefore, I have no choice but to label Itachi Uchiha, Hana Inuzuka and Naruto Namikaze the winners of the match! And as the rules of the Chunin Exams here in Kumogakure, every member of the winning team becomes a Chunin!"

The applaud was thunderous, it was louder than when they entered. Naruto looked at Itachi and Hana, who were both smiling and appeared to be pleased. They had won, Naruto jumped in the air with glee. He laughed. "We won! Someone go tell Kabuto he's a Chunin!"

"Naruto." Minato managed to say above the roar of the crowd. "Kabuto is unfortunately not becoming a Chunin, as the rules state, the WINNING team become Chunin, technically, Kabuto wasn't in the winning team, I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do."

Naruto's glee turned to guilt, he had robbed Kabuto of his chance to become a Chunin. Naruto swore that as soon as he saw Kabuto he would apologize and promise to do everything possible to make Kabuto a Chunin next time.

All that was left was for the Kages to give Itachi, Hana and Naruto their Konoha Chunin flak jackets, in Naruto's case, a Konoha headband as well. Each of them accepted and thanked them for the honour of being promoted to becoming Chunin, however Naruto's thanks was a little halfhearted.

**-Break-**

The time had come to return to Konoha, Naruto, Konoha's newest Chunin, had had quite a time here. He had met people in a similar predicament to him. He admired Bee for striving to become his village's hero, but after hearing Gaara's story, he could not make that his dream, what if his life had been the same as Gaara's, would the villagers scorn him as much as they did Gaara.

Gaara had become his first real friend, it was hard to say goodbye to him. They lived too far away to keep in contact, but a promise was made, that they would meet again, probably in about six months, when the next Chunin exam commenced, so it wasn't that bad.

He had also made Han open up slightly as well. He asked Han what was it like for him in his village. At first Han was opposed to telling him, but eventually Han cracked. His story was similar to Gaara's, the villagers looked at him with hate and disgust without any attempt to hide it. He also learnt that their was another Jinchuuriki from Iwa, that left the village to travel, leaving Han with all the hate of the villagers and no family or friends to connect and confide with.

Naruto had finished saying goodbye to Gaara, Han and Bee when the Mizukage walked up to him, the Mizukage's dull eyes scared him a little bit.

"Naruto." Yagura stated monotonously. "We share a similar fate, a fate of scorn and hate and denial. But we are both proof that we can overcome that. I can tell, you will become a man who will change the fate of the world. But the path to the peaceful light is filled with dark pavings, the more important question is, will you be able to overcome them?"

Naruto looked at the Mizukage curiously, what in the world was this guy going on about.

A very faint smile appeared on the Mizukage's face. "One day you will understand."

"Naruto." A hand touched his shoulder, he turned to see his dad. "Time to go."

Naruto waved goodbye to his new friends, few waved back. The world distorted and within a second he was staring at the gates of Konoha, his dad was right, you do get used to the effects of the _**Hiraishin**_.

Many villagers were startled by their sudden appearance, that soon passed and they began bombarding the Hokage and Naruto with questions, the main one; Why Naruto was holding a Chunin vest and a Konoha headband.

"Because, Kabuto Yakushi, suffered an unfortunate injury that would have caused Konoha to forfeit the final match, and Naruto courageously offered to replace him in the final match, so Hana Inuzuka and Itachi Uchiha wouldn't lose the chance of passing. And they won, Naruto successfully knocked out a Kumo nin single-handedly and helped Itachi Uchiha defeat one as well" Minato lied a little. Naruto didn't offer, he agreed.

Many of the villagers and Shinobi were stunned. They didn't seem to be disbelieving it. After all, he IS the Yondaime Hokage's son. A grin broke out on a Jonin's face, followed by another, then a few more eventually everyone surrounding them were grinning like wild. Cheers erupted out of them. Praising Naruto.

"Way to go, Naruto-san!"

"Way to make Konoha proud, Naruto-kun!"

"You're going to be a great Jonin one day!"

"Keep this up and you'll be just like your Dad!"

The last sentence struck Naruto. Thoughts of Gaara's story crept into his mind. Was their love, respect and praise for him really that fickle, did it all depend on him acting exactly like his father. They had smiled at him before, but this was the only time they ever showed him this much praise. Usually all their praise went to Mito.

"And soon Mito will be as strong as both of them, I can't wait!"

"I know, Naruto has set a high bar for her!"

"Don't worry she will surpass it!"

And their it was, once again everything he did they redirected to his sister, the perfect one. Every accomplishment he did, they turned it to something about Mito, how she would be surpass the standard he set. He hadn't thought much about it before, but now that he knew about his status, he couldn't help but feel a little contempt for his sister. The cheers for Mito going to catch up for him continued to resound. It was starting to annoy him. Every sentence spoke was filling him with more anger at his sister, more hate. More envy for the easy life she was living.

He shook the thoughts from his head, they were distracting him from his goal, he was almost forgetting about it. To find Teihaku. He knew that in order to keep on target for his goal, he would have to distance himself from Konoha, learn what he could, accept missions that allowed him to search and keep himself out of the affairs of the village.

**-Break-**

"The Uchiha's power and influence over the village are starting to decrease." Fugaku spoke calmly. He sat in a secured room of the Uchiha meeting house with Kagami Uchiha and a few other elders of the clan. They hadn't come out to congratulate anyone of than Itachi, the prodigy of the Uchiha clan.

"Yes the Namikaze family are making quite a name for themselves, one is the Yondaime Hokage, hero of Konoha, another is the Jinchuuriki of the strongest Bijuu, and is recently promoted to Chunin, half Itachi's age and without starting the academy. Give them a few years and they could have a reputation that equals the Uchiha clan." Kagami stated, Fugaku and the other elders nodded in agreement. "So we all agree..." He continued. "They must be eliminated."

"But who could pull of the feat, Minato is not the Hokage simply for his looks, he is deadly." An elder spoke.

"Itachi." A second elder spoke. "There is a connection between them, possibly due to a feeble attempt by Minato to keep a piece of his first son by him, he has only the utmost confidence in Itachi, he is perfect for the task. He will serve as the Uchiha clan's spy and eventually, Minato's assassin."

"Also, take into account his relationship with the Jinchuuriki, he looks at Itachi like an older brother, should Itachi complete the deed, he could take control of the Kyuubi as well, Itachi has already shown exceptionally high skills, even amongst us, the battle adept Uchiha clan, his control could surpass Madara's" Kagami answered.

"Itachi could never pull off the task." Fugaku stated passively. "At least not yet, he needs his hands soaked in the blood of the closest person to him to attain the power needed to even possibly be able to complete the action of assassinating Minato."

"Then you must find the closest person to Itachi." Kagami spoke standing up, he had other matters to attend to and left.

Fugaku understood. Their was only one other person that Itachi showed that type closeness to, Itachi looked up to him as an older brother. He looked at the remaining elders who nodded in approval.

"Shisui it is then."

**-Break-**

Naruto had been staring at his Konoha headband for a while now, was he really a Chunin. The rank did not matter, he would train just as hard as he ever did, he was beginning to catch up to Mito on chakra control, eventually he would be on the same level as her, then he would be the stronger one, he already excelled in other areas. He jumped up and ran out, ready to continue training.

Naruto rushed through the streets heading to a free training ground, however he saw someone he needed to talk to.

"Kabuto-san." Naruto said, gaining his attention.

"Naruto-kun, congratulations on become a Chunin, that's quite a feat, so what can I do for you?" Kabuto responded with a smile, there didn't seem to be any annoyance or anger in his voice.

"I wanted to apologize for taking your Chunin promotion, if you want I can have my dad promote you instead, he said he couldn't but I bet he could" Naruto proposed.

"No, it's quite alright." Kabuto smiled still. "I wouldn't feel like I deserved it, after all I did get injured."

"But-" Naruto tried to respond, but Kabuto cut him off.

"Besides, I want to pass on my own strength, and now that I know that I can make it passed the semi-finals, next Chunin exams I'll win the whole thing." Kabuto laughed, Naruto couldn't help but smile at Kabuto's enthusiasm, he really was a nice guy. He bid Kabuto and continued on, taking a short cut through the hot springs, where he stumbled on to something rather familiar.

A large man with long white hair, green pants and a green shirt, covered by a red vest, red lines etched their way vertically down his face. A large scroll strapped to his back and a binocular pressed to his eye, a blush adorning his face and a enticed giggle coming from his mouth.

"Jiraiya-jiichan!" Naruto ran up to the man and hugged him.

"WHA! WHO! HA!" Jiraiya shouted as the extra wait suddenly grabbed on to him. "Oh, it's only Naruto, go away I have important business to attend to." Jiraiya exclaimed as he gestured the boy to go away with his hand, then pressing the binocular back up to his eye.

"Jiraiya-jiichan, did you learn nothing from last time?" Naruto spoke quite deviously, although in a laid back tone as well.

Jiraiya looked at him with full seriousness. "You wouldn't dare?"

Naruto only raised an eyebrow at the man, who still wasn't prepared to call his own bluff, Naruto took a deep breath, however a hand stopped him from completing whatever it was he was about to do.

"Oh Naruto I didn't see you there, long time no see!" Jiraiya spoke with a rather forced smile. "What's up with the Konoha headband, your dad let you play with it or something."

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "No it's mine, I'm a Chunin now."

Jiraiya's eyes widened to the size of saucepans. "Naruto how old are you?"

"Five."

"And you're a Chunin?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmm...WHAT! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!"

Naruto began to repeat everything that transpired at the Kumo Chunin exams to Jiraiya, missing out minor irrelevant details (such as meeting Gaara). By the end of the story Jiraiya's eyes had grown significantly wider, then they relaxed and he grinned.

"So you became a Chunin without even joining the academy, you know what this calls for." Jiraiya said.

"What?" Naruto was eagerly waiting.

"A PARTY!" Jiraiya proclaimed.

The proclamation echoed through out Konoha and by the evening the party was on the way, everyone in Konoha participating. Many drunk, many singing together and badly. A most humourous scene was Jiraiya managing the Hokage to cave into celebrating, then getting him wasted. Minato began a huge speech that no father was prouder than he was.

Asuma stood with his father watching everything that had transpired.

"Hey dad, I'm a son of a Hokage too, why didn't I get a huge party when I became a Chunin?" Asuma pondered, he wasn't jealous, he just wanted to know.

"Hmm." Hiruzen thought. "It's probably because of Naruto's circumstance of becoming a Chunin, he hadn't even entered the academy, besides Naruto is much younger than you were, plus he's cuter." Hiruzen said quite brutally.

"Ouch dad." Asuma said. But he put the comment to the side, he figured the festivities would be the best time to tell his father of his plan. "Dad, I know what I want to do. I want to protect the king."

Hiruzen smiled proudly at his son, patting him on the shoulder, his son wanted to protect the next generation, he accepted the will of fire. "Excellent, a fine goal."

"Thanks dad." Asuma smiled in return. He never figured his dad would be so accepting of him trying out to become one of the 12 guardian ninjas of the Daimyo.

**-Break—Time skip-**

Naruto was practicing his latest Jutsu, it wasn't really a Jutsu, but he was learn to control his elemental chakra, his was wind, he had to practice cutting a leaf with just chakra. He didn't know how long this would have took if he didn't learn about the Shadow Clones ability to pass on their memories and experience back to the user when they dispersed.

He had also had his father teach him the basics of sealing, he was hoping to move to more advanced stuff soon. He had an idea for a Jutsu, one that, if it worked, could save lives. But it was impossible at the level of seals he was at now.

He checked the leaf again. 3/4 quarters of the way through, not bad, he dispelled his 135 clones, all doing the same exercise. Fatigue hit him instantly and he began panting hard, learning the _**Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu **_had been a plus because he could gain much more experience at a faster rate, but it left him awfully tired.

"Naru-nii?" He turned and saw it was Mito who called him.

"What?" Naruto replied, slightly harshly, seeing her easy life over the past two years in a new perspective had left him bitter, he couldn't not talk to his sister without miniscule amounts of venom seeping out with his voice.

"I was wondering if you wanted to train with me?" Mito asked, quite nervous, since he became a Chunin, her brother wasn't the same person he always was. He seemed to distance himself from everyone, he had never met any of her friends from the academy.

"I just finished." Naruto said coldly as he began walking off the field.

"W-Wait a minute!" Mito yelled slightly. "Why are you so angry? As siblings, as twins we shouldn't be fighting. We should be helping each other. Now why won't you train with me anymore?"

Naruto looked her dead in the eyes, whatever confidence she gained to yell at him was lost instantly. He moved closer to her, she felt like stepping back. He came close, his left should pressed against hers, she couldn't see his eyes, but she could her the resentment in his voice.

"Because you know nothing."

With that Naruto walked past her, banging into her shoulder. Mito watched her departing brother's form with some shock, what did he mean nothing, she realised, that he must be talking about the Kyuubi, she hadn't told him she knew about it, perhaps Naruto found out as well and got angry, she should tell him that she knows soon. After their birthday next week.

**-Break-**

Naruto and Mito's birthday party was on the way, all of Mito's friends from the academy were there. There was Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Choji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Shino and Sasuke as well as many others, a few adults attended as well, one of the few people missing was Naruto, he didn't feel like celebrating his birthday, especially with a bunch of people he didn't know.

"Minato, where is Naruto? I haven't seen him throughout the party." Choza asked.

"He's upstairs, he isn't feeling well." Minato lied, Naruto was upstairs, but he was perfectly fine, he just said that he didn't want to go. Minato and Kushina had both tried to make him come down, but he had developed Kushina's rock hard stubbornness.

Choji heard his dad say the name Naruto and wondered who it was, he ran over to Mito, who was surrounded by all her other friends.

"Hey Mito, who's Naruto?" Choji asked.

The other children seemed to be awaiting an answer as well. The name Naruto was on the banners, but they didn't know who he was.

"Naruto's my big brother." Mito replied.

A few children gasped in surprise at the statement. "You didn't tell us you have an older brother, where is he? How old is he?" Ino began bombarding Mito with questions.

Mito took a step back from her platinum blonde friend, her questions made her feel on the spot. "He's our age, he's my older twin brother and I don't know where he is." Mito nearly shouting to get the girl away from her.

"Then how come I've never seen him at the academy." Sakura pondered.

"Because, he already passed. He's a Chunin." Mito said quite embarrassed.

All the children except for one were awestruck, Mito's brother was a Chunin, and he was their age.

"Lies." One person responded. It was Sasuke Uchiha. "There's no way that you brother could have passed the Chunin exam, that would mean he was better than my older brother, and that's impossible."

"It's true! Naruto had to take a person's place in the exam and they won, he became a Chunin with Itachi and Kiba's big sister!" Mito argued.

At first Sasuke was still disbelieving. That was when Sasuke remembered, Itachi had spoke of a substitute for his team during the exam. So it was her brother. It left him slightly bitter , there was someone his age stronger than him.

Kushina then brought a massive cake in to the room all the children and parents gathered around it, with Mito directly in front of it. Her smile grew wide as everyone shouted make a wish. She thought for a second about what her wish would be. She inhaled deeply before blowing out all the candles in one go.

_'I wish for a happy family for the rest of my life'_

**-Break-**

Naruto sat on his windowsill looking out to the stars, his birthday was almost over, he could here the singing down stares, they must have brought the cake in. He continued to look to the stars. One shot over the night.

_'A shooting star'_ Naruto thought, a wish that had to come true no matter what. Naruto knew in a second what his wish would be.

_'I wish to see Teihaku in person'_

…...

Blue eyes shot open, they scanned the surrounding area, everything seemed to be moving, their vision was blurry. They looked down, the body they were connected to was connect to wires. Moving the arm, the wires were ripped off. The legs stepped forward, but they came into contact with a wall, a wall made of glass. One burst of chakra destroyed the glass. Granting freedom to the person inside for the first time in a while.

All of the body's muscles were stretched. He noticed a vault in the corner of the room, he walked up to it, he knew the code, it wasn't hard but only he knew it.

_One to the left_

_Zero to the left_

_One to the right_

_Zero to the left_

The vault opened, inside were two scrolls, both with a marking that would only accept the writers blood. On each scroll one word was written "Hiraishin" and "Rasengan". He placed them in the pockets for his pants, which were now massively undersized for him. On the other side of the room was a table, little was on it, but their was another scroll.

He walked up to it and scanned what was written on it. "Immortal Phoenix Rebirth Technique". An interesting jutsu, he would make sure to learn it. The exit to the room crept open slowly and a man with long black hair, pale white skin and yellow, slitted-pupil eyes walked in.

"Orochimaru-sensei." The first time using his voice in a while, it was croaky, not yet used to the deepened tone of it.

"Teihaku-kun you're awake, how do you feel?" Orochimaru responded.

"Fine, has it been four years already?" Teihaku answered, almost agitated.

"No, it has been five years, I left you in a year longer. Are you okay with that?" Orochimaru tested, the boy seemed angered somewhat, he could attack him at any moment, the boy wouldn't stand a chance, but he wasn't willing to lose a vital piece of his plan.

"It doesn't matter, we should begin training my will and mind to control these new power improvements, after that you can start training me on powerful Jutsus." Teihaku stated glaring at Orochimaru with some force as he began heading to the exit.

Normally Orochimaru wouldn't allow some child to speak to him like that, but the power radiating out of Teihaku's eyes was remarkable, with full training he could become one of the most powerful ninjas that ever existed, he could become the perfect body for him. Orochimaru followed the boy out the room, ready to prepare him for all the training they would be doing.

Teihaku frowned, no matter how far he looked into his own mind, he found nothing. The only thing he could remember was that the man with him was "Orochimaru-sensei" and that he was he one to put him into the tube. But why? Why did he do it? Why would Orochimaru want to strengthen him. But more importantly. Why did he let Orochimaru do it?

Teihaku knew that this question would eat away at him until he learned the truth. He decided to wait until Orochimaru had made him powerful. Then he would question the man, and if need be...

…..**Kill him**.

* * *

A/N: Oooooooooh. Well chapter 6 is done, what do you think, was it good, was it bad, was it SUPA! Sorry I'm just psyched about the One Piece time skip. Well the next release will be about halfway through November so stick around to find out what happens.

Till next time.

Rinne-Kami, fly!


	7. Chapter 4: Three Lives Through The Years

**A/N:** Oho! Did someone say a new chapter! Well you are right, yes you, I'm talking to you! Here is a new chapter and I know what you're thinking "Rinne-Kami you handsome devil, you said you wouldn't update until November" Well I decided. Screw my one chapter per month rule. I'll start that when I can't be bothered writing so many chapters. Let's begin with the chapter!

This chapter is basically a time skip chapter but so much happens through the years that I had to write in detail.

Disclaimer: STILL Don't own Naruto

"Speech"

_'Thought'_

_Flashback_

_**Jutsu**_

**

* * *

-1st Year-**

"The Uchiha clan are becoming a concerning threat." Koharu spoke seriously to the others in the room, Minato, Homura, Danzō and Hiruzen.

"I don't know what to do." Minato confessed. "We can't let them leave and Hiruzen and I have tried negotiations, but they won't listen." Minato finished.

Just then the door opened. In entered their spy for the Uchiha clan, a double agent, the Uchiha believe he was spying on Konoha for them. Itachi Uchiha, who volunteered to betray his own clansmen. Even his face seemed distressed at the moment.

"Itachi, what have you learned?" Hiruzen asked.

Itachi seemed a little hesitant to tell them. "Father and the elders are planning a Coup d'état on the village in a few months. They-They also want me to play the role of Minato-san's assassin."

The elders were shocked at the revelation. "This is unacceptable!" Koharu yelled in protest. "We can not afford to lose Minato, you hold to much authority over the other Kages!"

"Then you know what must be done." Danzō finally spoke up. "The Uchiha Clan must be eliminated." He proposed dead seriously.

The proposition shocked everyone in the room, especially Itachi.

"Impossible. Just impossible. No one can just walk up and massacre the Uchiha clan. There's a reason behind their feared reputation." Homura stated.

"Yes. Perhaps no one can. But what about an army." Danzō spoke.

"You're willing to allow your ROOT division to commit the act. Do you know what controversy you will cause, the entire village will despise you." Hiruzen spoke, catching on to what Danzō was suggesting.

Itachi dropped into a kneeling position, his head resting on the floor. "Then place the blame on me." Was his own proposition. Eyes widening was his response.

"What are you suggesting Itachi-kun." Hiruzen asked.

"Allow Danzō's ROOT to commit the act, but place the blame on me, I will leave the village." Itachi spoke, downhearted, but serious.

"You're willing to disgrace your own name for the sake of Danzō?" Minato asked confused.

"No, not for Danzō. For the Uchiha Clan, better they be known as being massacred by one of their own most prestigious than eliminated by a bunch of no name pawns." Itachi explained his reasons.

Homura, Danzō and Koharu nodded in approval, leaving Minato and Hiruzen against it. There was no choice.

"Very well." Minato spoke begrudgingly.

"However, I have only one request in return for this." Itachi spoke. It was only fair that he got something in return for disgracing himself and being exiled from the village he grew up in and loved. "Spare Sasuke, he has no idea what's going on, please, spare him." Itachi begged for his younger brother's life. "Just leave him to me, I will make sure he believes my story."

This of course touched most of the council's hearts.

"Of course Itachi, but how do you plan to make him believe you killed off you're own clan?" Hiruzen asked.

Itachi lifted his head, his Sharingan activated, but in a different shape, a three pronged pin wheel was shown instead of the usual three tomoe. The elders instantly knew what this meant, that eye hadn't been seen since the founding of Konoha.

"H-How did you acquire that eye?" Danzō asked, slightly fearful of the young Uchiha now. He knew what that eye could do. It was nothing compared to the Red-haired boy's eyes in Amegakure all those years ago, but this eye was still powerful.

Itachi's eyes seemed solemn as he told them how he retrieved this Mangekyo Sharingan.

_Flashback_

_Itachi drew a kunai and deflected the two that were thrown at him. He had been given a message to meet Shisui here at Nakano river. Shisui was indeed there but it wasn't just to have mindless conversation._

_"Shisui, why are you doing this?" Itachi asked, confused that his older brother figure had attempted to kill him._

"_The elders told me everything, Itachi!" Shisui shouted. "They told me of how you were planning to betray our clan and tell the village all of our secrets! I won't let you do it!" Shisui finished, his Sharingan now ablaze, he began his technique, the reason he was fear so much. **The Body Flicker Technique**, Shisui had managed to take a simple D-rank jutsu and turn it into something deadly._

_Itachi got on the ready, waiting for any signal of where Shisui was. Shisui appeared momentarily swiping a kunai at Itachi, who blocked or dodged, then disappeared back into thin air again. This continued for a while._

_'I may have to activate my Doujutsu' Shisui thought, his mind control technique was like no other, the person under it's influence didn't even know they were being controlled. It's power was on par with Madara Uchiha's controlling techniques._

_Shisui teleported to Itachi again, preparing his Doujutsu. He appeared directly in front of Itachi. Itachi in a fit of self preservation lunged his kunai forward._

_The squelching sound of flesh being pierced rung through his ears. The kunai had embedded into Shisui's arm, causing him to lose his focus, Itachi capitalised by placing Shisui into a Genjutsu he had know idea what the consequences were going to be._

_Shisui had planned to take over Itachi's mind and drown him in the river, Itachi's Genjutsu countered it and place an irremovable Genjutsu on Shisui. He could only watch in horror as Shisui fell over the bridges wall and into the river, he sunk to the bottom, not even trying to swim back to the surface. After a few minutes the air bubbles stop producing. Shisui had drowned. Itachi had inadvertently killed him._

_Itachi felt sick. He had just killed the person he considered his older brother. Itachi's eyes stung for a while he had know idea why, he jumped into the river to see his reflection, his Sharingan was shaped like a pinwheel. Was this the Mangekyo Sharingan._

_But what to do with Shisui, he needed to cover up his death. Using his new Sharingan he forged a suicide note, one in Shisui's handwriting. All he wanted to do was leave the scene, before anyone else came._

_Flashback end_

"I see. That's unfortunate." Hiruzen spoke. "You really cared for Shisui."

Danzō however was intrigued, this Doujutsu in Shisui's possession was interesting. If he could obtain it, who knows what he could do.

"What will you do Itachi once you leave the village?" Minato asked.

"I have been approached by Madara to join an organization of his." Itachi confessed. The others in the room were shocked, again. Madara was STILL alive. "I'm going to accept his offer, to keep an eye on him. And also, with the free time I will have, I'm going to find out what happened to my best friend."

"You know what happened, he's dead." Koharu pointed out bluntly.

"No, not Shisui. Teihaku, I highly doubt he is dead." Itachi smiled. Minato seemed to smile in return.

"Very well the Uchiha clan massacre will commence immediately, be prepared Itachi." Homura ordered.

**-Break-**

A seven year old Sasuke sat upright in a hospital bed, last night, his world had been destroyed. By his big brother Itachi. He killed off everyone in their clan.

"_To test my capabilities."_

_"Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me. And yet survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life." _

"Don't worry Itachi, I will kill you!" Sasuke spoke angrily to himself. Just then Kushina Namikaze and the Hokage entered his room. Kushina instantly hugged him, she had been a close friend to his mom's. The Hokage looked sad as well, but not as bad as his tear streaming wife.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke-kun, I can't believe Itachi would do this." Kushina cried. "If you ever need a helping hand come see me okay." She looked at him, as a mother would to their child, it felt quite sickening, where was his own mother to look at him like that. She had been killed by her first born son.

"In fact Sasuke-kun, why don't you come live with us." Kushina asked with a smile on her face. Sasuke filled with rage, he had just lost his parents and this woman was trying to replace them.

He knew the path he would take. A path only large enough for one person. One that needed power and to live in their own loneliness, to fester in it, until they became something more. An Avenger.

"No, thanks." Sasuke replied bluntly. Kushina was taken back slightly, perhaps she had come on to strong too soon. She accepted his decision and after a while of talking to him, she left with the Hokage.

Sasuke sat alone again, thinking about his brother, how he would make him beg for mercy for what he had done. Then finally relieve him of his disgusting life.

**-Break-2nd Year-**

Teihaku tried warping again. Slowly but surely he was getting the hang of the _**Hiraishin**__, _he had mastered the _**Rasengan **_and his kekkei genkai, that he learned about from Orochimaru, these chakra chains. They allowed him to suppress others chakra and even suppress their movements, one had to be faster than him to dodge, and that never happened.

Teihaku stood much taller. He wore a open torso, black long sleeved shirt. He wore black pants with a dark, burnt orange cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees. Around his waist was a black rope, holding the cloth up. A sword was sheathed on his back., held by the rope around his waist. A Oto headband tied was tied around his forehead. Being slightly covered by his fringe.**(1)**

Orochimaru suddenly entered, he was wearing that black cloak with red clouds on it he sometimes wears, but that wasn't important, what was important that in his right hand he held his left hand, which hand been completely severed from his arm.

"Orochimaru-sensei, are you finally going to tell me what the cloak is signifying." Teihaku asked, his eyebrow raised.

Orochimaru chuckled slightly, clearly not concerned about the severed arm. "It shows that I am a member of a group called Akatsuki."

"Akatsuki? Never heard of it." Teihaku responded.

"Of course you wouldn't have Teihaku-kun, they are a very small group, who haven't begun their plans yet. They are composed of S-Class missing-nin from many different Hidden Villages." Orochimaru chuckled.

Teihaku was intrigued. S-class missing-nin gathering, sounds like they were up to something big.

"And which one did that to you? I doubt you just tripped and cut off your arm." Teihaku continued with his questions.

Orochimaru kept on chuckling. "His name is Itachi Uchiha, a young and new member, I wanted his body for the Sharingan, as you can see I failed in obtaining it." Orochimaru lifted up his severed arm. "With this I have officially defected from Akatsuki. I think we should destroy them Teihaku." Orochimaru said with a chuckle.

"Do you believe I am strong enough to beat them Orochimaru-sensei." Teihaku asked, continuing the little back and forth between him and Orochimaru.

"Yes, Teihaku-kun, you are very strong, once you have mastered the _**Hiraishin**_ you will be unbeatable. Orochimaru spoke again, his chuckling stopping.

Teihaku knew that this was his only chance. "But still, perhaps you could teach me the _**Immortal Phoenix Rebirth Technique**_." Teihaku proposed, he wanted that technique.

Orochimaru looked at Teihaku with suspicion. "But why would you want to learn that technique. Your progress has already moved in leaps and bounds. Perhaps I shouldn't have taught you the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and it's inner workings of memory transference. That really helped you're training." Orochimaru began chuckling again.

Teihaku needed a good answer quick. "Because. With that technique I could definitely preserve my life until you are ready to take my body under your control, it would be a shame if I died after you put all this time into training me."

Orochimaru looked satisfied with the answer. Orochimaru himself couldn't master the technique, that was infuriating to him, so he had to develop his own technique similar to it. His _**Body Shedding Technique**_, but that wasn't finished yet, so he would have to wait for someone strong and take over their body before he got his arm back. And if Teihaku learned this technique, once he absorbed Teihaku into himself he would instantly learn the technique, he couldn't possibly lose.

"Very well, Teihaku-kun, I will go get the scroll for you." Orochimaru smiled slyly and left.

Once Orochimaru left Teihaku smiled deviously in return. Everything was going according to plan.

**-Break-**

Orochimaru looked at his stump of an arm, it had been three months since he lost it. Now he was getting sick of looking at it, he needed to find someone strong and take control of their body, but not Teihaku, it was not yet time for him. And Kimimaro was too young.

Orochimaru was brought out of his train of thought by the feeling of impending doom. Instinctively he moved out the way. Where he standing Teihaku came crashing down, a _**Rasengan**_ in his hand, going to where his head was previously located. What had interested Orochimaru was that Teihaku had his old Akatsuki cloak and his severed hand in his free arm.

"Teihaku. What is the meaning of this." Orochimaru tried to sound calm, but small amounts of his fear traced into his voice. With only one arm he was no match for Teihaku now.

"I have learned all I can from you now, Orochimaru-sensei." Teihaku stated bluntly, his Killing intent reeking the air. "And with only one arm, you are useless to me now. You will only regain that arm when you take over someone else's body, that's why I'll kill you now."

Teihaku charged at Orochimaru with a flurry of punches and kicks, always aiming at Orochimaru's left side. A few connected, that was all Teihaku needed.

Orochimaru watched as his student attacked him. With a red flash he disappeared. So he had mastered his father's technique. Orochimaru felt a powerful kick connect to his head, sending him backwards, before he could react Teihaku stood over him, his sword unsheathed and pointing to Orochimaru's throat.

"I marked you sensei, no matter how you react, I will teleport and strike you down." Teihaku explained.

"This is how you thank me for making you strong!" Orochimaru shouted. The nerve of this boy to try and kill him after Orochimaru taught him everything he knows.

"No. This is vengeance for placing memory seals on me." Teihaku spoke bluntly, shocking Orochimaru. "Yes, I know. It wasn't hard to figure out actually. I remembered nothing of my past, but I distinctly remember you being Orochimaru-sensei. It was obvious that you had done that otherwise I wouldn't have known who you were either." Teihaku finished, sheathing his sword and backing away from Orochimaru. "Now, I am going to find this Akatsuki and I'm going to join them, to find out what they plan to do with this world." Teihaku had finished with his former sensei. He had begun to walk off when Orochimaru stopped him.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Teihaku-kun." Orochimaru asked.

Teihaku looked back towards his former sensei, now quite bored.

"You forgot to kill me, Teihaku-kun." Orochimaru spoke again.

Teihaku turned back around and walked away. "No. I'm letting you live this one time as my thanks for making me strong."

Orochimaru laughed to himself, there was no way he could stop Teihaku from leaving and there was certainly no way he could kill him. He laughed at the irony of Teihaku's nobility and of how foolish he is. Eventually Orochimaru would have his arm back, then he would get Itachi's younger brother's body, the one Itachi spared. And finally he would have Teihaku's body. Making himself immortal. In time. For now Orochimaru laughed.

**-Break-3rd Year-**

"Mission complete dad." Naruto spoke as he entered the Hokage's office. He had just returned from a solo B-Class mission. He had begged to be able to take it, then it wasn't even that hard. The bandits were all bark no bite. Especially when he pulled out 250 _**Shadow Clones**_.

"Well done, Naruto." Minato grinned at his son, who didn't respond. "Oh, you're mom wants you to go pick up Mito after school." While that was the case, it was also to make Naruto meet children his own age, he would only ever converse with Itachi. Who had now left, leaving Naruto without anyone to call a friend.

Naruto sighed, another attempt for him to make friends, if it wasn't his dad it was his mom or his sister.

"I can't those bandits made me realise how weak I am, I need to put more training in." Naruto lied. And left his father's office before he could reply.

Naruto noted that, now that Itachi had left he had no one. Not that he was complaining. But massacring his own entire clan. That didn't sound anything like the Itachi he knew. He admitted to himself that he missed Itachi terribly. Itachi was the only person Naruto could fully trust. Naruto believed that when he was with Itachi, that that was what it felt like to be hanging around with a big brother.

This thought turned his attention to another thought that frequently plagued his mind. He often wondered what Mito felt about him, if she considered him to be a good older brother, he didn't know why and he told himself that he didn't care but the thought always recurred.

He brushed the thought away and continue to his secret training spot, away from the other villagers where he could train in peace.

**-Break-3rd Year-**

Teihaku stood in front of the leader of Akatsuki, it took a while to find him, but walking around wearing the Akatsuki cloak attracted the attention of a member called Zetsu. Who took him to the leader.

The leader was a man with deathly pale skin. Bright spiky orange hair was at the top of his head. With an Ame headband tied around his head, with a large gash going through it, signifying his defection from it. Weird, because he was still currently in Amegakure. His ears had six black piercings and a black bar going through each of them. His nose had three black piercings going down the bridge of it and under his bottom lip was another piercing at each end. He wore the Akatsuki cloak as well so not mush else could be seen.

But the guys eyes. Teihaku had never seen anything like them. They were a complete purple colour with a black pupil, yet there were concentric circles leading from his pupil around his eyes, making a ripple like pattern.

"So I have a question for you." The man said in a deep dead voice. "Why are you wearing my organization's cloak?" Killing intent reeked off his body. Teihaku tried to seem unfazed, but it was very potent.

"I took this cloak from my master, Orochimaru. I want to take his place in the organization." Teihaku answered as he threw Orochimaru's severed arm on the ground in front of the leader. The leader seemed fixated on the ring on the little finger.

"Is Orochimaru dead?" The leader asked again.

"No, I spared him out of gratitude for making me strong, but if it's his death that you require in order for mean to join, then consider it done." Teihaku offered.

"No, Orochimaru will die in time. But why do you want to join Akatsuki?" The leader asked again.

Teihaku looked at the ground. "I have no recollection of my past, no family or friends that I know of to seek out and be with. Because of that I have no idea what I should do with my future. Orochimaru spoke about this organization being a group of dangerous S-class missing nin. Whatever it is you're planning, it will shake the very foundations of this world, and I want in." Teihaku finished, looking at the leader in the eyes.

The leader seemed to be about to respond when the sound of hands clapping resounded behind them. A man, with short, spiky black hair and an orange mask, one with only one eye hole, with a design of a swirl going around it stood there. Teihaku didn't even notice him enter. Who was this man?

"A touching speech." The man spoke, calm and slightly amused. "Come Pain, give him a chance of joining, I'm sure he could make a powerful member."

Madara under his mask was grinning. So Orochimaru had the Yondaime Hokage's missing son all these years, that slippery snake. He instantly recognized that Uzumaki trademark red hair, it was the same as his mother's Kushina. And his eyes had the same affect that his father's, Minato Namikaze had. The fact that he wanted to join an organization that would eventually hunt down and kill his younger brother was all to amusing. But he didn't seem to have any knowledge of that, could Orochimaru had blocked his memories.

"Madara." The leader, Pain answered. "What would you suggest would be a good challenge to test his mettle?"

Madara thought for a moment. "There is a pawn in Kirigakure that I no longer have any use for. Dispose of him Teihaku, and you will take Orochimaru's place in the organization." Madara offered, the situation was amusing to him still.

"Done." Teihaku replied quickly. "Who is he?"

Madara chuckled deeper and louder. "The Mizukage." Madara spoke, his eye gleamed through his mask. Teihaku's eyes widened. "Yagura is a perfect Jinchuuriki, he will be harder to catch and extract the beast from him. Your objective is to infiltrate Kiri and extract the Sanbi from Yagura, if you can not do that capture him and bring him back here. Is that understood?"

Teihaku nodded. "Consider it done." He threw a kunai with a tag that Madara instantly recognized at the wall, which embedded into it and with that he left to complete his assignment.

When he left Madara chuckled again. This was too perfect, with this he could test if Teihaku had his mother's special chakra and extract the beast from Yagura, making it easier to capture later on, and if he didn't he could still capture Yagura's body and bring him back, that being the first beast they catch. If Yagura kills Teihaku, then one less threat to worry about and better Teihaku dies than a fully fledged member of Akatsuki. And finally Teihaku's attack will no doubt start a war with Konoha, with Teihaku's sudden reappearance and attacking the Mizukage. No matter what way Madara couldn't lose.

"Was it wise to send him?" Pain asked, miniscule amounts of concern was evident in his voice.

Madara laughed it off. "Concerned about an Uzumaki relative are you Nagato?**(2)** Well don't be, Teihaku will succeed. It's in his blood to do great things." Madara finished with one last dark chuckle.

**-Break-**

Teihaku looked at the Mizukage's mansion, infiltrating Kirigakure had been easy. The fools were so blinded by their pride of their mist that they didn't even set up any barriers, he had snuck around every nook and cranny possible and was undetected by anyone.

But that ended the easy part. The Mizukage probably wasn't name Mizukage for nothing, adding to the fact that he was a perfect Jinchuuriki, he had full control. He wouldn't go down easy.

_'But it still might be fun'_ Teihaku thought with a smile as he entered the mansion through a top window.

Teihaku found the Mizukage fast asleep in his bed. A dangerous mistake. Teihaku crept quietly into his room, now he had to figure out how to extract the beast from him.

Out of nowhere the Mizukage's eyes snapped open. So that was it, he could probably sense people in his sleep. Teihaku wasted no time and grabbed the Mizukage, with a swift activation of his jutsu, he teleported himself and the Mizukage out of the room, out of the mansion, and out of Kirigakure.

**-Break-**

Teihaku landed several hundred metres away from Kiri, a good 850 metres away from the village. To the _**Hiraishin**_ tag he set up before infiltrating the village. Now the Mizukage couldn't call for any reinforcements. He was alone, a one on one fight.

Yagura looked at him, his emotionless face had broken slightly, into one of annoyance. "That was the Yondaime Hokage's technique. Who are you?"

"Oh, so the Yondaime Hokage and I share a technique? Then he's next on my list of people to kill. For now, you're number one." Teihaku replied with an evil smile.

"You didn't answer me." Yagura spoke, he was without his staff, but no matter, he could handle this boy. "Who are you?"

"You're executioner." Was his response. Teihaku charged at the Mizukage. He placed his hands into a hand seal. "_**Lightning Release: Wave of Inspiration!**_" Teihaku shouted, large amounts of electricity conducted into Teihaku's hands, with a push he shot it at Yagura, who evaded the attack.

_'So he has the Lightning affinity, and the headband has a symbol of a music note, I've never heard of the village before.'_ Yagura thought to himself. "Boy it is common courtesy to tell someone your name, I shall start. My name is Yagura, Yondaime Mizukage of Kirigakure." Yagura spoke out as if a jutsu hadn't just been launched at him.

Teihaku grunted under his breath. "Well Yagura. I am Teihaku. I have come to end your life."

"Teihaku. What village do you hail from?" Yagura asked yet another question.

"Otogakure." Teihaku answered bluntly.

"Otogakure. I've never heard of it. And the slash going through the headband signifies that you are no longer affiliated with that village." Yagura pointed out.

Teihaku nodded, was this guy stalling for time.

_'I don't know how the boy has acquired Minato's technique, but my objective for this fight should be to not let him touch me.'_ Yagura thought. "One last thing-"

"NO MORE QUESTIONS!" Teihaku yelled in anger. Flying through several hand seals he activated one of his most powerful jutsu. "_**Lightning Release: Ferocious Ocean Splitter!**_"

The jutsu began. Yagura watched in some fascination, the boy looked like he began storing chakra in his body, sparks off lightning flew off his body. Teihaku roared and a massive bolt of lightning shot out of his body. Moving at incredibly high speeds towards Yagura. Who startled as he was, managing to dodge by a hair.

_'Remarkable.'_ Yagura noted. Up until now he had not been taking the boy seriously, even with the _**Hiraishin**_. And that jutsu looked like it took massive amounts of chakra. But this Teihaku didn't even seem fazed.

Yagura had no more time to think as he was drawn into a Taijutsu brawl by Teihaku, who had managed to close the gap between them in a fraction of a second. The boy was fast yes, but his attacks were predictable. He was constantly aiming for the 8 vital points on the body. Yet the boy wasn't slowing his attacks and Yagura knew he couldn't dodge forever. With one powerful jump he cleared a new distance between him and Teihaku, he went through a series of his own hand seals. Lucky they were standing on water, his preferred battle field. _**"Water Release: Multiple Water Fang Bullets." **_Yagura spoke calmly as he thrust his hands onto the water's surface.

Teihaku looked around, nothing had happened yet. Suddenly spinning spikes of pressurized water came hurling at him from all directions. The tables had turned, Yagura now had him on the run. He dodged all of them, however some just grazed him, but these "grazes" were still enough to leaving long cuts on his body. Teihaku looked around, for some kind of opening. He looked to the water. The floating log with his _**Hiraishin**_ tag had been knocked around and had landed ever so comfortably at Yagura's feet, who was too preoccupied with his Jutsu too notice. Teihaku took this chance. _**"Hiraishin."**_

Yagura felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, followed by the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. He looked down and saw Teihaku kneeling, his sword unsheathed going through his stomach. He looked further below him. The log with the tag, he hadn't noticed that it was at his feet. Yagura closed his eyes. "It appears I underestimated you." He spoke and began to cough up blood. "Now it appears I have no choice."

Yagura knew the landscape between here and Kirigakure, there were no major obstructions. His eyes widened, his sclera a dark red colour. His iris changing from a bland purple to power blood red eyes. Chakra began to leak out of his body, three tails of chakra appeared behind him. With a roar he sent Teihaku flying backwards allowing him to complete his transformation.

**-Break-**

The shinobi watched in horrid fascination as the Sanbi erupted into existence.

"Check if Mizukage-sama is still here!" A Jonin ordered. "If not, we move to the Sanbi's location!" Was his last order.

**-Break-**

Teihaku looked at the Three-tailed beast. _'So it's a giant Turtle.' _Teihaku thought skeptically. _'I definitely have the advantage, it appears the hare will win this race.'_

The Sanbi roared ferociously and ran at Teihaku, catching him off guard. It's speed was incredible. _'And no doubt it's appearance alerted Kiri. I have to finish this soon.'_

Teihaku took off, the Sanbi hot on his trail. He needed a distraction to come in and attack. 'Wait. The log.' Teihaku conjured up a plan. He changed his direction quickly and moved towards the log with his tag on it. With one swoop he picked it up and with another powerful throw threw it at the Sanbi. "Now or never to try my new Jutsu." Teihaku spoke to no one. He redrew his sword. _'Focus.'_ Teihaku concentrated. _'Change the shape to fit around the sword.' _Spinning chakra etched it's way out of Teihaku's hand, up the hilt of the sword, up the blade and to the tip. He had done it. Now to think of a name.

He turned to look at the Sanbi just in time to see his plan work. The Sanbi had been so focused following him that it allowed the log to hit it in the face. Teihaku used his Hiraishin, to deliver his last attack.

Yagura, from inside the Sanbi had been following Teihaku's movements intently. The boy would die here. With a red flash Teihaku was in front of the Sanbi's eye. His sword glowing with spinning chakra. What was he planning to do?

"_**Justice Rasengan!" **_Teihaku shouted as he thrust the sword into the Sanbi's right eye. He needed a better name for the jutsu, but at least it worked. The sword carved into the Sanbi's eye. A roar of pain escaped it. An Teihaku capitalised on it's pain. He sheathed his sword and activated his kekkei genkai.

Chakra chains shot out of his body and wrapped around the Sanbi's body. With massive amounts of willpower Teihaku subdued the Sanbi's struggling and began suppressing it's influence over Yagura. Slowly but surely the Sanbi's size shrank until Yagura's human body was present, the chains wrapped around him, with one entering his body into his stomach.

Teihaku wheezed from exhaustion, he had used the jutsu on humans and those monsters that Orochimaru create, but he could never had begun to understand the magnitude of sheer power that that took to suppress and subdue a tailed beast. But unfortunately his job wasn't done yet. He panted as he shot two more chains into Yagura's body. He began pulling them all back out. Pulling something out with them.

Yagura's world erupted in pain as the seal on the left side of his ribcage was yanked open. These chains of chakra were hindering his movements, he could do nothing as the Sanbi was pulled out of his body. What was worse was that the Sanbi seemed to be trying to escape at this moment as well. Seeing an opportunity to leave it's human bonds.

With a mighty roar the Sanbi was pulled out of Yagura's body. Teihaku's job was done. He released all the chains and they dispersed, a great weight lifted from his shoulders. He watched Yagura's body falling into the water, floating. He hadn't moved yet. But Teihaku's attention was turned back to the now free Three-tailed Giant Turtle. Which hadn't made a move yet.

The Sanbi looked down at Teihaku, with it's one good eye. The boy was powerful, he had damaged his right eye, possibly permanently. He suppressed it's influence over Yagura, a perfect Jinchuuriki. And then he released it from Yagura's body. The Sanbi knew that this boy was dangerous and with its injury it couldn't continue in any fights. It did the one thing it could think of before being by captured by anyone else. It fled.

Teihaku watched the Sanbi speed away. He counted his blessing, the way the Sanbi was staring him down was like it wanted to continue the battle. Something Teihaku couldn't accomplish.

"Mizukage-sama!" Teihaku was brought out of his thoughts by the voice of a man, followed by several sets of footsteps. He turned to see many Kiri shinobi, looking at him with fear.

"Give him a proper burial." Teihaku ordered the shinobi. "One befitting an elite shinobi."

"Wh-Who a-are y-you?" The Jonin managed to stammer out.

"I am Teihaku." Was all Teihaku said. All he knew was that he needed to get away before the Kiri shinobi decided to avenge their fallen leader. With the last remaining ounce of his chakra he flashed away. Back to the tag he set in Pain's office.

**-Break-**

Madara and Pain were waiting in Pain's office when Teihaku suddenly appeared in a flash at the kunai he placed in the wall. He was battered and bruised and panting. "Mission accomplished." He said between pants.

Madara was a little skeptical at first, he knew Teihaku would succeed, but this was faster than he expected. Zetsu wriggled his way out of the ground and opened his Venus fly trap like appendage. He nodded at Madara. "I've recorded the whole thing as you asked Tobi. Yagura is indeed dead. The Sanbi was extracted and is currently residing in the lake south west of Kirigakure."

Madara looked at Teihaku. From what his eye showed, he was very pleased. "Well done, Teihaku!" Madara applauded. "That was remarkably quick."

"Thank you, although using my kekkei genkai takes a lot of energy out of me. I'm not used to using it on a regular basis." Teihaku wheezed out, using the wall as a support.

"No matter, no matter." Madara shook Teihaku's doubts off. "You've completed you're mission, as you promised, you have proven that you are worthy to join Akatsuki." Madara spoke as he pulled out a kunai and Orochimaru's severed hand. With one swipe he cut the little finger, dropping the rest of the hand and sliding the ring off, he threw the ring at Teihaku who caught it. "With this you are an official member of Akatsuki."

Teihaku studied the ring closely. It was a silver colour. But it had a small slate blue circle on it, in the middle was the kanji symbol for void. "Thank you." Teihaku smiled as he continued looking at the ring.

"Akatsuki members usually work in pairs. However unfortunately I already have someone planned to take Orochimaru's old partner and no one else is available, so for now you will work alone." Madara spoke.

"That's fine with me." Teihaku exclaimed. "Right now I need some rest."

"Very well. Konan show him to a room." Pain ordered.

The blue-haired woman that was silent throughout the entire time grabbed Teihaku and pulled him out the room. This was the first time Teihaku actually saw her face, but he was too exhausted to look closely at her.

**-Break-4th Year-**

A 10 year old Mito sat in her seat in the academy, bored out of her mind. Iruka was currently just babbling about shinobi techniques this and ways for concealment that. Honestly, why she couldn't take the test earlier she would never know.

She wasn't the only one who was thinking this. Sasuke Uchiha sat by himself in the room, ignoring the drooling dreamy eyed fan girls never taking their eyes off him. Five years. He would have to endure five years of the academy, he was currently on his fourth. His brother was allowed to take the exam after one year, was he really five time weaker than his brother. His eyes narrowed, that was impossible, he was catching up fast, soon he would be stronger. His eyes shifted to Mito on the other side of the room. Her brother didn't even enter the academy and he became a Chunin and that was six years ago, was her brother really that strong. Sasuke hoped that he would be on Mito's team, for the chance of meeting her brother and testing his strength against her brother's.

"Now can anyone tell me about the Bijuu?" Iruka asked the class. Mito's ears perked up, this could be interesting. Sakura Haruno, the class brainiac and ms. I-think-I'm-so-beautiful's hand shot up. Really, she was quite useless overall, except for her smarts.

"Sensei." Sakura begged for Iruka to ask her. He nodded, signaling his approval for her to continue. "The tailed beasts are a collection of sentiental chakra, there are nine overall. The tailed beast go back to when the Shodaime Hokage had all of them under control. To level out the power of the 5 villages he offered two out to Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure and Iwagakure. Keeping the Kyuubi for Konoha. The Ichibi and the Hachibi went to Kumogakure, the Nibi and the Nanabi went to Sunagakure, the Sanbi and the Rokubi went to Kirigakure and the Yonbi and Gobi went to Iwagakure. However because the Ichibi would suit Suna's environment better a trade was initiated between Kumo and Suna, swapping the Ichibi and Nibi. Then the Nanabi escaped Suna and fled, I think it's now owned by Takigakure." Sakura finished. Mito had listened intently, so there might be eight others who were just like Naruto.

"Yes well well done for that answer Sakura." Iruka said, Sakura smiled. "But if what you say is true, then where is the Kyuubi, why don't we see it around Konoha?" Iruka asked, he looked slightly at Mito, no doubt she would know he answer. No one else seemed to know.

Mito looked down, it was probably not best to say that the Kyuubi was sealed inside a person, especially her brother, no one in her class seemed to know about that, if they did they would probably be scared of Naruto and her for being his sister. Mito decided that Naruto didn't need that kind of attention.

**-Break-**

Naruto himself was currently taking a nap. He had been training hard all day, to work his sealing jutsu, which he was beginning to excel in, his mom and dad were both masters at sealing, so they gave him a lot of tips.

Naruto was beginning to sweat hard, tossing and turning in his sleep. Anyone watching him would swear he was having one hell of a bad dream.

***-Break-***

Naruto looked around at the surroundings, it was a multitude of moving colours, different shades of Yellow and Purple swaying around, like the waves of the sea. He looked down, he felt the ground underneath him, but he couldn't see it with his eyes. His shadow wasn't visible either, but light was all around him. When he finally looked back up he saw he wasn't alone.

From across the room, about 10 metres away, stood another boy, he was older than Naruto, about sixteen, it was a face Naruto hadn't seen in a long time. But it wasn't the same face at the same time. The boy's blue eyes were cold and murderous, his longer spiky red hair fell around his head, a fringe covering the headband wrapped around his forehead. The boy's facial features seemed angry and confused. The clothing he was wearing was a long black cloak, that went down to his knees, fastened all the way up to his chin, covering the lower half of his face. The black cloak had red clouds on it in random locations. Naruto admitted to himself that the cloak was very cool.

"Teihaku." Naruto smiled. "I haven't seen you in so long."

The boy's eyes seemed to widen in surprise, his frown never leaving his face. "Who are you?" He asked coldly.

"Teihaku, it's me Naruto." Naruto responded trying to reach out to his older brother.

"Naruto." Teihaku spoke as coldly as before. "Why do you know my name?"

"Because I finally found out who you are." Naruto smiled weakly. Teihaku's eyes widened in shock.

"Well, Naruto. I do not know who I am myself." Teihaku sounded, he seemed to be getting angry.

"You're my big brother Teihaku." Naruto's smile never faltered.

Teihaku didn't seem moved by the proclamation at all. In fact it seemed like he put his guard up even higher.

"Then why have I never heard of you. You're not my brother." Teihaku answered. Naruto felt like he was going to cry, that had hurt deeply.

Just then another figure faded into existence. It was Itachi, standing next to Teihaku, he was wearing the same cloak as Teihaku. He also seemed to be older as well, around Teihaku's age. He looked at Naruto with a little disappointment.

"Itachi. What's going on? Why are you here? And why does Teihaku act like this?" Naruto pleaded for some answers.

Itachi sighed before he started speaking. "Naruto, Teihaku was my best friend." Itachi admitted. "But I hadn't seen him in a long time. I don't know why he acts like this now."

Naruto was even more downhearted than before.

"But perhaps." Itachi began. "Now you could understand how Mito feels, she doesn't even know about Teihaku and her other big brother blames her for something out of her control."

Naruto seemed shocked by Itachi's suggestion. "Wh-What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you ignore Mito's attempts to be your friend, for something that she took no part in." Itachi explained.

"But I have my reasons." Naruto argued. "All my life I have to deal with the looks of hate that the villagers give me, yet Mito gets everything with ease, while I have to work for even the slightest bit of praise, which everyone then redirects back to Mito and sets her on the path to surpass me. It isn't fair!" Naruto finished shouting, tears leaving his eyes.

"Naruto. Is it?" Teihaku interrupted. "Let me tell you something."

The next thing Naruto knew, he was hoisted into the air by his neck, a hand wrapped around it, Teihaku had moved in a blink of an eye and lifted him up to eye level with him, so he could glare angrily into Naruto's eyes.

"Life isn't fair!" Teihaku spoke his voice changing from the calm cold one, to a rage filled, yet still calm voice. Naruto watched as Teihaku lifted his another hand and balled it into a fist. "Now leave!" Teihaku shouted as he threw a punch directly at Naruto's face.

***-Break-***

Naruto awoke before the punch could hit. That was probably the scariest thing he had ever experienced. His mind instantly began comprehending the ideas behind the dream.

Teihaku had changed incredibly, but he didn't remember who Naruto was, different from the first time Naruto saw him, Teihaku approached him first. Had something happened to Teihaku to forget who Naruto was?

The next was Itachi's appearance. Why had Itachi appeared, he missed Itachi since he left. But that didn't explain why he appeared.

The final thing was Itachi and Teihaku's matching cloaks, what did that signify.

Then it dawned upon Naruto, Itachi's appearance and proclamation that Teihaku was is best friend must have meant that Itachi knew where Teihaku was. The cloaks must signify that they are following the same ideals and paths. So in order to find Teihaku, Naruto must first locate Itachi.

But what Itachi said about Mito, was it true? Is that what Mito felt like around him. Total rejection of an older sibling. Naruto didn't like the feeling that it imposed on him, and he was sure Mito didn't like it either. He knew that he would have to rebuild his broken relationship with his little sister.

**-Break-5th year-**

The now 12 year old Naruto and Mito were in their garden training, it mainly involve Mito rushing at Naruto with a barrage of Taijutsu and Naruto effortlessly blocking it. A good training routine for Mito as she would know if she was improving by how many times or how close she got to hitting Naruto.

All in all these training sessions were fun for her, while Naruto wasn't the brother she once knew, he didn't totally ignore her existence. He opened up slightly, but never enough to let her in. The were friends again, to Mito's joy, she had her big brother back.

She remembered when they first began to become friends again. She was a little scared when Naruto approached her, she wondered what she could have done wrong. But then he asked her if she wanted to train with him. She realized that Naruto was reaching out to her and she couldn't possibly refuse, she wanted her big brother back.

They had finished their training. They sat down under a shady tree in the garden resting, Mito was panting hard from the training, yet Naruto looked like he didn't even break a sweat.

"Mito." Naruto spoke bluntly.

"Yes Naruto-nii-san." Mito responded curiously, Naruto was never the one to start a conversation.

"You're graduation exam is next week, it will consist of three Jutsu, _**The Clone Technique**_, _**The Replacement Technique**_ and _**The Body Flicker Technique**_ make sure you know them." Naruto didn't sound concerned, just a heads up tone to his voice.

"Don't worry Naruto-nii-san, I got them down, I'll graduate no problem." Mito spoke with a smile, one Naruto returned slightly.

"That's what I wanted to talk about. I think you should pass the test. But just barely." Naruto now looked her in the eyes.

"What? Why?" Mito asked confused.

"Well who is the best person in your class?" Naruto asked, he was sure that Mito told him before, but he never really paid attention.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Why what's that got to do with anything?" Mito asked, still as baffled as ever with her brother's suggestion.

"Everything. Sasuke will no doubt graduate top of the academy right. So if you pass just by a sliver, you will be on his team, with you and him together, you will be able to enter and pass the Chunin exam earlier. Also, Kakashi will without a doubt be his sensei, he is the only one who can train Sasuke on the Sharingan. And you know how strong Kakashi is, he will be a worthy sensei." Naruto finished with his proposition.

Mito contemplated the idea the idea. Kakashi was a strong person, so he would be a good sensei, and he would definitely be Sasuke's sensei with his Sharingan. "I don't know." Mito spoke. "I mean, Sasuke's good looking and all, but he is kinda scary. Always looking like he needs to test himself and looking for challenges, and he's so dark and closed himself off from everyone." At the last sentence Mito stared laughing.

"What's so funny?" Naruto was now the confused one.

"I just described you, Naru-nii." Mito spoke between snorts of laughter. "It's funny cause if you met Sasuke, you and him would probably become the best of friends."

Naruto smiled slightly and pushed his sister, who pushed him in return.

"Okay, I'll do it." Mito said after her laughter died down.

"Good." Naruto replied. "Now there's something else I wanted to show you to. It's a Jutsu I made."

**-Break-**

Iruka stood looking concerned at Mito, u until now her grades had been excellent, matching Sasuke's but this last test for graduation, she did as bad as Shikamaru! She had just managed to pass by a sliver.

"Mito, how come on this last exam you're grades were awful." Iruka whispered to her. He didn't want to make a scene, if he somehow insinuated that the Yondaime Hokage's daughter was a failure, well he would have hell to pay.

Mito cringed at the question, she had no idea how to answer it. She smiled and scratched the back of her head. "Umm...It must have been the pressure or something." She replied innocently.

Iruka accepted her answer with a little doubt, but shook it off, this WAS her most important test at the academy after all. Her career literally hanged on passing. "Well okay then." Iruka replied. He handed her her Konoha Headband, which she wrapped around her leg.

"Because everyone that has passed is here. I will announce the teams and senseis now." Iruka exclaimed, everyone seemed to shut up and listen intently. Individually everyone was hoping to get on Sasuke's team, for the boys he would be a good training partner, but for the girls, they would be on Sasuke-kun's team!

Iruka went through the first six teams, still Mito's or Sasuke's names hadn't been called.

"Team 7 under the teachings of Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno." Sakura's head popped up in surprise, she was praying to god to allow her on Sasuke-kun's team.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura instantly jumped up cheering, shouting about true love conquering all. All the other girls seemed to groan, even Sasuke groaned, he got in a team with one of the worst fan girls.

"and Mito Namikaze." Sakura continued cheering, she got in a team with her Sasuke-kun and the one of the two girls in the class that didn't have a crush on her Sasuke-kun. The other students complained. The last Uchiha AND the Yondaime's daughter on the same team just wasn't fair. Sasuke on the other hand smirked now, Mito wasn't like the other girls, she actually trained and wasn't useless, plus this way he could finally meet her big brother.

"Silence you little brats and let me finish!" Iruka shouted, his head enlarged several times. Everyone shut up, Iruka coughed and continued.

"Team 8 under the guidance of Kurenai Yuuhi, Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka. Team 9 is still currently active so moving on. Team 10 under the tutelage of Asuma Sarutobi, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi. That's it. Please return tomorrow at 9:00am to meet your senseis, all I have left to say now is good luck with your careers as shinobi and enjoy the rest of the day." Iruka smiled, a tear fell from his eye. The students got up and thanked him for his time teaching them, that just made it worse for Iruka, who ordered them to get out. So they wouldn't see him cry.

Mito and the other children ran outside, Mito looked around and saw her mom waving at her, a smile grew on Mito's face as she ran towards her mom, hugging her once she reached her. "Mom, I passed!" Mito exclaimed. She looked around and saw that her mom was alone. "Where's dad and Naruto." She asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, honey." Kushina spoke sweetly. "But dad was too busy to come, and Naruto was so delved into his training that he couldn't come either."

"Oh." Was all that Mito could say. It hurt quite a bit, she understood that her dad wouldn't be able to come, but she thought that she and Naruto were close enough now that he would at least come to her graduation. Kushina grabbed her hand and they began walking home, Kushina offering as much ramen as Mito could eat as a treat for graduating.

**-Break-**

Unaware to all the budding shinobi and their parents, there was someone watching them, more specifically Mito and Kushina.

Naruto sat quite comfortably in a tree, everyone was too excited to notice him. He watched Mito hug their mom and talk for a while before Kushina grabbed her hand and began taking her home. Naruto looked at the Konoha Headband tied around his sister's leg, a smile appeared on his face softly.

"Way to go, Imouto."

* * *

**A/N:** Oho! Did somebody say plot development! I did. The next chapter will be up whenever I feel like writing it. Hahahahaha!

**(1) -** Basically what Sasuke wears at the beginning of Shippuden, just different colours.

**(2) -** Oh yes, Madara revealed that Nagato was a member of the Uzumaki clan, a distant relative of Naruto, perhaps?

All in all I am pleased with this chapter, I think the extraction was a little short, but I'll let you guys be the judge. Review please.

Till next time.

Rinne-Kami here saying, stay beautiful.


	8. Chapter 5: Missions and Tests

**A/N:** Yo. My first chapter for a while and I won't lie I had kinda lost the will to write but I'm back with a brand new chapter. Chapter seven is definately my favourite, so this had a lot to live up to. I might be going back over this and extending and tweaking bits here and there, but I've been typing this chapter for about a week and a half so I just really needed it to get published. I finally have a role for Mito in the story now and if I've wrote this right you should understand it. Naruto will NOT be getting the chakra chains at all just so you know.

"Speak"

'_Thought_'

_**Jutsu**_

"**Demon speak**"

_Flashback_

**'Inner Sakura'**

**

* * *

Ku ku ku ku**. A deep, ominous chuckle resounded in the dark. "**So, Sanbi has been released back into the world, and it's former host is dead. How delightfully amusing.**" The deep voice followed the chuckle, an amused tone traced it's voice.

"**And it was Teihaku that did the deed.**" A blood red eye shot open in glee. "**I believe I shall toy with the boy's mind with this newest revelation.**" The red eye closed again. The chuckle resounding once again.

**-Break-**

Minato sat in his office alone, every time Konoha was picked to host the Chunin Exams the paperwork was substantial.

_'Honestly, I see more paperwork in the months before the Exams than I do for the entire rest of the year.'_ Minato sighed.

Just at that moment a small toad jumped through the window and stared blankly at Minato, who looked at the toad puzzled. The toad stood up on it's two hind legs and took a deep breath and began performing a series of kabuki poses.

_From the north to the south_

_The man who takes the breath out of a woman's mouth_

_From the east to the west_

_All men know that he is the best_

_Fast, Handsome and Strong_

_With hair so white and long_

_There is only one_

_The Gallant Toad sage Jiraiya!_

The toad ended it's poses with its left arm extended forward, palm outstretched. It quickly reverted to the typical pose stance before speaking, "Is arriving soon." The toad stated bluntly before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

Minato stared at the spot where the toad was. While his eyebrow rose, a sweat dropped. "That was too much." He spoke unimpressed.

"What was too much?" Jiraiya's voice appeared behind him, he was grinning madly.

"The toad, sensei. It wasn't really necessary." Minato spoke with a small smile on his face.

"I knew you'd like it." Jiraiya continued grinning, zoning out when Minato criticised him.

"So what's up?" Minato asked bluntly.

Jiraiya sighed and leaned against the wall. "The Mizukage has been assassinated." Jiraiya's blunt straight forward answer shocked Minato.

"What." Was all Minato could say. He remembered the Mizukage. Yagura's blank, emotionless face which hid the power of perfect control over a Bijuu. Even without the beast Yagura was an extremely powerful Shinobi. "What happened?"

"I don't know, it did happen two years ago after all." Jiraiya confessed again. Shocking Minato further.

"Impossible, how could we have not heard about it then." Minato nearly shouted. There was no way he could be dead for that long.

"Apparently Kirigakure didn't want everybody to know that a single person snuck into their village, kidnapped the Mizukage, then promptly killed him." Jiraiya stated, he remembered that Yagura was not a very well liked Kage of his village. Numerous assassination attempts had been made on him before, even by one of the seven swordsman of the mist, but whenever he met with the Mizukage with Minato, he was always a nice guy, just a bit boring.

Minato was currently thinking the exact same thing as his sensei. _'So someone finally got vengeance for the bloodline limit massacres.'_ He thought sadly. "And who killed him?" Minato spoke out loud.

Jiraiya sighed louder. "That's the thing. I don't know who did it, Kiri have heightened their security in a panic, the fact that I just got the information on his death shows how badly their trying to cover things up. But I've got people who are trying to find Intel on the guy who did it. We'll know soon enough if he is a threat to our village or Naruto as well." Jiraiya cringed as the last few words left his mouth.

Minato, being a master analyser, instantly picked up on the last few words his sensei said. "What do you mean a threat to Naruto?" Minato's voice took a deadly serious tone.

Jiraiya knew that he would have no way to dodge around this. "This guy. Whoever he was, also managed to extract the Sanbi out of Yagura. It's still on Mizu no Kuni's land, but it is free."

Jiraiya sighed in relief at Minato's reaction, he didn't get angry or upset, in fact he seemed rather calm, the ways his eyes were set and he kind of melted and relaxed into his chair- Oh.

"H-He extracted the beast out of Yagura's body, a perfect Jinchuuriki's body." Minato whispered almost silently. Could Naruto also be in danger. He looked at the stack of paperwork. One of which was a request by Takigakure it improve the seal on their Jinchuuriki, to better contain the Nanabi. All the Jinchuuriki could be in danger by this one man. "Sensei, can you find out who this guy is?" He nearly ordered his sensei to do it.

Jiraiya winked and grinned madly. "Of course I can, did you not hear the toad, I am also gonna look for this guy myself, so he has know way of hiding."

"But be careful sensei. This guy is able to kill Kage level shinobi, and if he can extract beasts from their hosts, I am willing to bet that he has some form of control over them as well." Minato warned his sensei. Jiraiya was so headstrong and such as show off sometimes that he would nearly get himself killed.

"I know that Minato, but this guy can't be allowed to walk around freely, he must be dealt with." Jiraiya spoke, showing his very rare serious side.

"Definitely." Minato's one word response came out with full seriousness. Whoever this guy was he needed to be eliminated, no matter what.

**-Break-**

"Well Teihaku I am impressed!" An amused tone could be clearly be heard in Madara's voice. "Not only did you manage to assassinate one of the current Kages, but you managed to get away with it as well. Kiri's people are having conflicted emotions on what to do, on one hand they are nearly on their knees thank every God out there that the man behind hundreds of massacres is finally gone, however on the other hand, he IS their Mizukage and they believe they should avenge him."

"I don't really care about their conflicting emotions, tell me, what is my role in Akatsuki?" Teihaku asked annoyed. Two years, he was forced to wait two years since complete his assignment and still wasn't given a duty within Akatsuki. They hadn't even been in contact with him after he got the ring.

"Oh, but you should care." Madara pointed out calmly. "If they finally place a bounty on your head, you will a highly wanted man because you can extract beasts. On that note I must say what balls you have, to loudly proclaim your own name in front of the village whose leader you just killed." Madara chuckled lightly, his chuckling became louder when he heard Teihaku's irritated growl. "Ah yes, your role within Akatsuki. I have decided."

Teihaku's now nearly emotionless face lit up slightly.

"Instead of working in a two man team, you will work alone. Similar to Zetsu, however that is where the similarities end. Unlike Zetsu you are not equipped for espionage and disposal of bodies. You will work foremost and most prominently as Akatsuki's assassin, you've already shown that you excel in it. If a team is struggling to capture their target, you will arrive to assist in taking down the Jinchuuriki and if need by contain and capture the beast by itself." Madara spoke in a serious manner. "Likewise if there are any loose strings that need tied up, you will be sent to eliminate them. Is that understood?"

Teihaku nodded. _'So I'm working alone. Perfect. I like it better that way.' _He thought as a smirk appeared on his face. "That's perfect. So when will I meet the other members?" He asked. The only members he knew were Pain, Konan and Madara, who wasn't actually a member.

Pain spoke next. "The next gathering is approaching shortly, there we will discuss Akatsuki's entire motive."

"And unfortunately Teihaku will be unable to attend. You first assignment is ready and needs to be dealt with immediately." Madara interrupted Pain.

Teihaku nodded. "What is it?"

"A former Kiri ANBU who went rogue and apparently knows too much." Madara debriefed. "He realised that Yagura was being controlled by me and tried to assassinate him, obviously he failed. I need you to go and eliminate him and anyone associated with him. This is what he looks like." Madara finished offering Teihaku a copied Kiri ANBU file. In side was all the details about his target surprisingly it didn't mention his name.

The picture showed a man with shorty, spiky brown hair, white bandages covered the majority of his face. His angry brown eyes glared at the camera. The hilt of a sword could be seen behind over his shoulder.

"And what is his name?" Teihaku asked. He would need a name to find him, also he would like the name of the person he was going to kill.

"His name is Zabuza Momochi, also known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist, I'd be careful of him when you approach him, his rage extends into his blade." Madara mused, remembering his meetings with Zabuza, like when he gave him the Decapitating Carving Knife for decimating the previous owner of the sword**(1)**.

"Don't worry, in the face of rage, it's best to keep your cool and wait for them to slip up." Teihaku spoke calmly as he walked away waving a small goodbye over his shoulder.

Pain and Madara watched him leave before Pain spoke. "Did this need to be dealt with immediately? I would like all the members to know their comrades."

"I'm afraid that that can not happen." Madara sighed a sigh.

"And why is that?" Pain questioned, underneath his emotionless mask Nagato was beginning to get annoyed by the amount of control Madara thought he had over Yahiko's organisation, they were supposed to be joint leaders, yet Madara spoke to him like another underling.

"Did I mention that Teihaku was originally from Konohagakure not Otogakure." Madara looked at Pain, who did nothing. "I take that as a no. Well here is something else that will shock you, he is also the son of the Yondaime Hokage."

Madara could have sworn Pain's eyes widened. "You mean the missing one." Was Pain's response.

"The very same, however Teihaku knows nothing of his past. But Itachi might, I can't afford to have them make contact with each other, Teihaku must be kept in the dark about his past life and family. At least until we have his utmost loyalty and allegiance." Madara finished.

Pain nodded slowly. "Very well. Now what about the two free spots for the _**Ged**__**ō**__** Maz**__**ō**_. We need two new members, a partner for Sasori and one to replace Kakuzu's newly deceased partner."

Madara sighed again. "Curse Kakuzu and his uncontrollable rage. We will have to find some who Kakuzu can not possibly kill to be his partner."

"I have heard of a group who worship a deity named Jashin. They have been conducting experiments to bring immortality and apparently they were successful, the man has been wandering since he massacred his neighbours from Yugakure." Pain informed.

"We must find him, he will be a valuable pawn." Madara stated. "But what to do with Sasori..." Madara mused for a minute, before remembering some very interesting news. "There is a young man who recently defected from Iwagakure with one of their prized forbidden jutsu, I remember seeing him some years ago, even then he was something special. Dispatch Sasori, Itachi and Kisame to recruit him. He is working for hire at a terrorist organisation in Tsuchi no Kuni."

"And how will they know who he is?" Pain quizzed.

"Just tell Itachi his name, I'm sure he will remember him from his Chunin exams. His name is Deidara." Madara spoke, his Sharingan activating in his eye spinned madly.

**-Break-**

Mito was not impressed by Kakashi, she never realised how annoying he could be. He had her, Sakura and Sasuke wait for three hours in the classroom, just to arrive and tell them that on his first impression he hates them. Then he had them walk to the top of the building just so he could read one of Jiraiya's books for twenty minutes!

"So how about some introductions." Kakashi spoke as he snapped his book, his left eye closing to show what Mito could only assume that he was smiling.

"Well what do we say sensei?" Her new team mate Sakura asked. With her long bubblegum pink her and jade emerald eyes. She wore a red qipao dress with white circular designs and tight dark green shorts. Her Konoha forehead protector was now used to accent her face instead of her usual red ribbon.

"You know, your likes, your dislikes, aspirations, hobbies, stuff like that." Kakashi said now looking at the sky.

"You go first." Mito's second team mate Sasuke spoke angrily. _'Must this guy waste any more of my time.' _Sasuke wore a blue, short-sleeved shirt with a raised collar and the Uchiha crest on the back, and white arm warmers along with white shorts and the forehead protector tied around his forehead. Sasuke sported dark hair spiked at the back with darker eyes.

"Okay then. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I have my likes and I have my dislikes. I have many hobbies. And for my dreams, I usually have eight per night, but nothing sticks." Kakashi finished with his eye smile.

All of his new students looked at him with the same quizzing stare, they must all be thinking the same thing.

_'All we learned was his name.'_

Mito on the inside was seething. _'AHH! This guy is so annoying! And to think I used to think that his mysteriousness made him cool!'_

"Okay Pinkie, you go first." Kakashi pointed towards Sakura. Who blushed slightly but nodded.

"My name is Sakura Haruno, What or rather who I like is-" She glanced at Sasuke and smiled slightly. "My hobbies include-" She glanced again at Sasuke and her smiled grew larger. "My dreams of the future include-" That was all she could handle, she immediately squealed in delight after looking at Sasuke for the third time.

Her new team mates reactions were all different. Sasuke's face showed one filled with annoyance, Mito's showed one of disappointment for her pink haired team mate and Kakashi had a face that was completely unimpressed.

"And your dislikes?" Was all Kakashi could get out.

"INO-PIG!" Sakura shouted extremely loudly.

Kakashi wiggled his finger in his ear, trying to stop the ringing. "Okay, now you." He pointed at Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. My hobbies are none of your concern. My aspirations are not a dream, they are my destiny, to restore honour to my clan, and to kill a certain man." Sasuke finished his hands never leaving the front of his face, his scowl deepened into a glare.

'Sasuke-kun is SO cool!' A giddy Sakura thought. **'no doubt about that damn it! Sasuke-kun will kill anyone who gets in his way!' **Sakura's inner personality shouted as she fisted the air.

Mito looked at Sasuke a little shocked. _'This guy, he's a lot like Naru-nii'_

Kakashi looked at his only male student. _'So he's still hung up on that.'_ He couldn't blame him, but the path to healing begins with forgiveness.

Kakashi turned to look at his final student, the one he already knew well. She wore that same style of outfit since she first bought one. She still had her long straight hair, just like her mother's, going just passed her shoulders. However her eye colour and hair colour were identical to her father, bright blue and flashy blonde. She wore a pink shirt with detailed orange swirls going throughout the pink fabric. She wore black shorts with a light blue skirt going over them. Her legs were still wrapped in bandages. She was the only one out of his sensei's children that he saw on a regular basis. Naruto was always so reclusive and... well, Kakashi didn't know what to think when it came to Teihaku.

"My name is Mito Namikaze." She spoke cheerfully. "I like training and ramen and spending time with my family. I don't have many dislikes. My hobbies include taking walks, painting and training with Naruto-nii-san and my dream." Mito stopped there, she had never thought of what she wanted, what her dreams would be. "To succeed my father and become the first female Hokage."

Kakashi nodded, it appeared that she didn't know what her dreams were, her pause indicated it. But it would do for now. "You train with Naruto, how is he?" Kakashi asked. From the corner of his eye he saw both Sakura's and Sasuke's eyes light up with interest.

Mito leaned back onto her hands and looked up into the sky, she could see Naruto's smirking face, not one of arrogance, but of one who was trying to hide what he really felt. "He's unbelievable." Was all she could say. "He's miles ahead of me, of anyone in our year group." Mito continued looking up into the sky, unaware she had all three of her new team's undivided attention.

Sakura was the first to regain her composure. _'There's no way he's as cool as my Sasuke-kun.'_ Sakura told herself. **'That's right damn it!'**

Kakashi smiled through his eye again. "That's good news."

Sasuke however, wanted to know more. Mito didn't seem to be lying, could he really be that strong. Sasuke knew that he had to meet Naruto at least once. Mito's brother could be the biggest stepping stone to his own brother.

"Okay! Now that the introductions are done, I can tell you about your Genin exam." Kakashi spoke with a smile.

"We already took our exam sensei, that's why we are here!" Sakura insisted loudly.

Kakashi motioned her to calm down with her hands. "Yes, yes, yes, you DID take an exam recently, but that was only to wean out the weak. This is the true exam, out of the 27 students who past the Academy's exam only nine will continue on the path of the ninja at this time, meaning..."

"That there is a 66% chance of failing." Sasuke spoke, unamused about this test.

"I wouldn't look at it that way, think of it as having a 66% chance of having another year to hone your skills with the people younger than you." Kakashi smiled. Angry glares appeared on the faces of his new team.

"So what's the test?" Mito asked.

Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out two bells, which he jingled. "Your test is to retrieve one of these bells from me within a set time limit. If you don't, you will fail and be sent back to the academy."

"B-But sensei, there's only two bells." Sakura stuttered out.

"Exactly. Sasuke, you seem to like to point out the negatives, what does that mean?" Kakashi looked at Sasuke.

"That only two people can pass." Sasuke spoke calmly.

"Well yes, or only one of you can pass, or none of you." Kakashi added. "Meet me at the third training ground at 6:30 tomorrow morning, and I recommend that you skip breakfast, you'll just end up puking it back up." At that Kakashi _**Shunshined**_ away in a gust of leaves, leaving his three students to contemplate their plans.

Sakura looked the most worried out of the three. There was no way she could retrieve one of the bells before Sasuke or Mito, they were much farther ahead of her. **'Don't worry damn it!**' Her inner self consoled. **'Sasuke-kun will get both bells and give one to us, then we will be together forever and live happily ever after damn it!' **Sakura looked at her prince charming, who seemed calm and collected.

Sasuke was calm and collected. _'A simple test.'_ He thought confidently. _'I will retrieve both of the bells easily, but should I allow one of them to pass with me? Maybe. Mito is already one of the strongest Genin in our year, no matter what the exam result said, she will be the most worthy training partner, Sakura on the other hand.'_ Sasuke turned his attention to look at Sakura. _'Is useless.'_ Sasuke turned his attention again, but this time to Mito. Who didn't seem worried either.

However Mito was worried, at first she wasn't. There was no way that Kakashi could fail both the Last Uchiha and the daughter of the Yondaime Hokage, the elders wouldn't allow it, hell the village wouldn't allow it. But the way Kakashi looked before he left, it broke her confidence in that idea, he might just dare to fail them.

**-Break-**

Mito stood at the stumps of training ground three waiting. She was thirty minutes early before the set time to arrive. Her mind was trying to comprehend her father's cryptic words during dinner the night before.

_Flashback_

"_So Mito, you met your sensei today. Did he tell you about the test?" Minato spoke with his mouth full of ramen noodles._

_Mito hadn't eaten any of her dinner she had just moved it around the bowl with her chopsticks. "Yeah, it doesn't make sense." She looked up from her food at her father. "Why make a team of three, just to kick a member out the day after?"_

_Minato smiled at her. "Just remember Mito, a ninja most always look underneath the underneath."_

_Flashback end_

'Underneath the underneath. What the hell is that?' Mito thought to herself, did that mean that this test is not all what it seems, or is there an underlying message behind the tests rules.

She nearly missed the fact that Sasuke was approaching her, he seemed tired. Now they were just waiting for Sakura and Kakashi.

"Good morning Sasuke." Mito spoke politely.

"Hn." Sasuke replied impolitely.

"Did you eat breakfast?" Mito asked, puking or not, she had a better chance of passing this test with a full stomach the be starving and out of energy.

The sound of Sasuke's stomach growling answered her question. She fished around in her kunai pouch and offered an energy bar to Sasuke. "Here, you won't be able to even stand a chance of getting the bells with an empty stomach."

Sasuke looked at Mito, then the energy bar. What was her motive for doing this? However, the feeling of hunger was overpowering the feeling of suspicion. Grudgingly he took the energy bar from Mito's hand. He ate it quickly, watching her. _'I bet she's doing this so I drop my guard and she can take both the bells, but I won't let that happen.'_

After eating the bar Sasuke gave a small nod to Mito as a sign of thanks. He realised that this may be the only chance for him and Mito to be alone, maybe now would be the best time to get information on her brother.

"So.." Sasuke began. "Your brother already passed the exams. When?"

Mito was a little taken back, Sasuke was starting a conversation. "Umm...It was seven years ago." She responded confused.

Sasuke nodded. "So he's strong. How strong?"

Mito's confusion didn't fade, but she couldn't answer his question. Not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't actually know how strong her brother was. "He's very secretive, that's why most of the population hasn't seen him for a while, but in training he beats me easily and I don't think he's using his full power."

Sasuke nodded again, Mito was by no means weak, with the exception of Shino**(2)**, she was the only one in their class to actually show some promise and gain a partial amount of his respect. If her brother Naruto could beat her without even trying, what would his full power be like.

Sasuke was about to ask about Naruto's jutsu when he was interrupted by the sound of a loud sigh of exhaustion.

Sakura had arrived, her eyes half shut, her usually perfectly groomed hair a bit messy. She waved weakly. Before she could speak the sound of her stomach growling resounded. She blushed in embarrassment. _'Why did this have to happen in front of Sasuke-kun.'_

Mito sighed and revealed and energy bar, she offered the bar to Sakura, repeating what she had said to Sasuke.

Sakura, like Sasuke was suspicious of Mito's actions, but for very different reasons. _'She's trying to make herself look better than me in front of Sasuke-kun.' _Sakura thought angrily. She knew that Sasuke-kun like girls who were strong. With one swing of her arm she batted the energy bar out of Mito's arm and away from them. "I don't need your help!" She shouted she looked at Sasuke for some sign of praise, but she didn't get one.

Mito looked at the energy bar metres away from her, that was incredibly rude of Sakura, she was just trying to help. Sakura must think that she looks strong in front of Sasuke.

**-Break-**

Kushina looked in disgust at Minato drinking that sorry excuse for a liquid; coffee. How he could possibly drink something that bitter she would never know. "Do you think Mito will pass?" She asked him.

Minato slurped the coffee loudly. " I don't know, she will probably figure out the meaning of the test, but it's getting the others to cooperate with her that will difficult. Sasuke refuses help from any source and Sakura will most likely follow him. I know how all the girls have a little crush on him." He spoke drowsily.

"I see." Kushina mused, getting irritated by the continued slurping of coffee by her husband. Until he had that drink he wasn't the same person that the village loved.

There was a small silence between them, before Kushina spoke again. "After Mito's exam and going to test her and Naruto to see if they have my special chakra chains."

Minato nodded. "Good, however I believe it will only be Mito who has the chains. The Kyuubi might have stopped that ability in Naruto, to increase whatever small chances it had of escaping."

"If that is the case, I will have to focus more on Mito's development, and I don't want Naruto to think that we are favouring Mito." Kushina seemed saddened by this.

Minato could sense his wife's sadness. "Don't worry about it. Naruto doesn't need any help, he's already closing in on low-Jonin level and when he's ready I will begin teaching him the _**Hiraishin**_."

"But he's not the same!" Kushina nearly shouted out. Tears forming in her eyes. "He's so reclusive, we never see him around the house and I don't think he has any friends. All he does is train and take missions, Konoha hasn't even seen him grow like they did Mito."

"I know. Being told that he was a Jinchuuriki was not the best of ideas. But he has accepted it and I believe soon he will be able to begin training to control it. Besides he is beginning to open up." Minato comforted Kushina.

Kushina sighed sadly. "I guess." Her thoughts turned back to Mito and how she was doing in her test.

**-Break-**

"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life." Kakashi smiled as he finally arrive, three and a half hours late. "Right, shall we begin." He said as he pulled at a timer and set it. "You have until the hand hits twelve to retrieve a bell, if you can not, you will be tied to the stump and be forced to watch me eat lunch in front of you."

Sakura's stomach growled from the indication of food, Mito and Sasuke smirked.

"Oh, and I suggest that you come at me with the intent to kill." Kakashi spoke lazily.

The three new Genin readied themselves to attack. Kakashi lifted his arm into the air, bringing it down fast. "Begin!"

Immediately the Genin disappeared into the surround trees. _'Well at least they know not to attack me directly, shame, that means I'm going to have to go looking for them.' _Kakashi thought as he began walking into the trees.

**-Break-**

"They've hidden themselves well." Kakashi spoke aloud, noticing Sasuke hiding in the tree south-west of him, he was hoping to draw out the last Uchiha. To test him to see if he was worth all the praise he gets.

Sasuke heard Kakashi speak and watched him pull out a book. _'He's underestimating us!'_ Sasuke thought angrily. Quietly he pulled out eight shuriken, throwing them quickly at Kakashi's location. He was surprised that Kakashi dodge the shuriken coming from behind him but didn't waste time and began preparing the next stage of his assault.

Quickly forming hand seals and pouring chakra into his throat to ignite the oxygen. "_**Fire release: Grand Fireball Jutsu!**_" Sasuke shouted as he launched a massive ball of fire at his sensei.

Kakashi turned around at the feeling of the atmosphere heating up to see a large fireball coming directly at him, quickly putting the book away he jumped over the fireball, only to have a foot nearly connect with his head. Putting his arm to block it another foot came at his head as well. Kakashi blocked the other foot with his other arm. He looked down at the smirking Sasuke, he guessed that Sasuke did deserve some of the praise he gets.

Sasuke smirked. He had both of Kakashi's arms occupied. He twisted his body around and extended his arm out towards the bells. His fingers had just skimmed one of the bells before Kakashi dropped him and jumped backwards.

Sasuke quickly recovered and was ready for an attack, but discovered that Kakashi had vanished. Sasuke darted around checking every location. _'Front, left, right, behind, above.'_ He thought as he looked around, Kakashi was in none of these directions. _'Where is he? Did he go to eliminate the other two first.'_ Sasuke continued his train of thought.

"_**Earth Release: **__**Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!**_"

**-Break-**

_'Sasuke-kun, where are you!'_ Sakura thought as she darted through the trees, she was hoping to find Sasuke and team up with him to get the bells. She was rushing around the trees when she found the one thing she didn't want to see.

Sasuke was leaning against the tree, his back was bloody and filled with kunai and shuriken. He coughed, blood spurted outwards.

"S-Sakura. H-Help me." He spoke weakly. He collapsed onto the floor. This was all Sakura could be. She screamed loud for her lost love and promptly fainted.

Kakashi watched disappointed. That was an extremely low level Genjutsu and Sakura was supposed to be one of the smartest in her graduating class. To be fooled by something as weak as that.

Kakashi sighed. _'Let's see how Mito gets on then.'_ He thought as he left the collapsed Kunoichi where she lay.

**-Break-**

Mito watched Kakashi drag Sasuke into the ground, so just his head was revealed. Before walking away. Mito waited for a while before she ran out. After watching Kakashi do that to Sasuke she realized that there was no way that they could take a bell from Kakashi individually, he was just too strong. They would have to work as a team.

She approached Sasuke, whose prominent scowl was far worse. "Hold still." Mito whispered as she began to pull Sasuke out of the ground. Sasuke surprisingly put up little effort to resist. Once he was out of the ground they were alerted by the sound of a mournful shriek.

"Sakura." Sasuke muttered in annoyance.

"Come on!" Mito grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him in the direction that the scream came from. They found Sakura laying unconscious on the floor. "It's okay she'd just under a Genjutsu." Mito forced a bit of her chakra into Sakura's system.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, before her body shot up. "Sasuke-kun!" She looked around and saw Sasuke standing above, she almost immediately crashed onto him, sobbing profusely. "I thought you were dead, Sasuke-kun!"

"It was just a Genjutsu, now get off me!" Sasuke grumbled out as he tried to free himself from Sakura's grip.

Mito hushed them quiet. "Listen we need to work together to get the bells from Kakashi."

"Not a chance." Sasuke snorted out. "I touched the bells myself and next time I will get one. I never expected the Yondaime Hokage's child to be such a coward, you haven't even attempted to get the bells yet." With that Sasuke began walking away.

"Yeah Sasuke you're right!" Sakura agreed loudly, trying to get on her love's good side. She began following him, but she stopped to turn around to look at Mito, her face had an apologetic setting and she mouthed a silent "Sorry." before she began tailing after Sasuke, she didn't hate Mito, but Sasuke was the more obvious choice for her.

Mito watched the twosome walk off disgusted, there she was, just trying to help and she gets it thrown back in her face! Mito huffed loudly before walking back in the opposite direction the two left, back towards the stumps.

She arrived back at the stumps, there wasn't much time left to retrieve a bell, and it wasn't like she could get one from Kakashi anyway alone.

_'Wait. I'm not alone.'_ Mito thought as she pulled out a scroll from her back pocket. The one Naruto gave her.

"Are you going to try for the bells now, Mito?" A voice spoke, Mito found Kakashi leaning against the back of the stump, reading his book, he snapped it shut instantly and walked out towards her. "As I said before, come at me with the intent to kill, because if you are sensei's daughter, I might have to go all out." Kakashi lazily reminded her.

Sasuke and Sakura who had returned back to the stumps, hid in the nearby bushes, hearing everything Kakashi had to say. Both were shocked by his teacher's identity.

_'This guy was trained by the Yondaime.'_ Sasuke was slightly impressed, maybe Kakashi wouldn't be a total waste of a sensei after all.

_'Suddenly, sensei seems cooler.'_ Sakura thought, when the Hokage came to visit the academy classes, she couldn't help smiling, the same with the other girls. The Hokage just had one of those faces, plus she was always told by her mom and her mom's friends about how handsome and strong and courageous the Hokage was, even in the academy himself.

"I guess I am." Mito smirked. Quickly she sped towards Kakashi, it seemed he had anticipated her speed. She threw a left punch towards Kakashi, who blocked it easily.

_'I'd say about low-Chunin strength and mid-Chunin speed. Definitely taking after sensei.'_ Kakashi thought. He knew that he would have to bring out more of the girl's potential. He began throwing a few punches back. Which were counteracted or blocked by Mito.

Kakashi and Mito danced around in a Taijutsu frenzy, however it was only Kakashi who managed to get hits in. Everytime Mito saw the smallest of opening's Kakashi would recover quickly and block them.

Mito jumped back exhausted, she was expecting a tough fight, but nothing could of prepared her for this, even Naruto's inhumane stamina wasn't the same as Kakashi's years of experience on the battlefield.

Sasuke looked shocked. He didn't know that Mito could move that fast. She did better than him in the Taijutsu fight. But what was she planning next.

"You have some admirable fighting skills Mito, but to get the bells you're gonna need a Jutsu, I trust Minato or Kushina taught you some." Kakashi spoke, readying himself for any attack.

Mito smiled and shook her head. "Nope. Only the academy jutsu." Mito confessed. "Mom and Dad focused on building base skills like speed and strength, but I do have one Jutsu that was taught to me."

"Who taught you it?" Kakashi asked, Mito could have sworn their was a slight trace of interest in his voice.

Mito's smile grew wider. "Naru-nii!" She pulled the scroll out from her back pocket and opened it. Kakashi's single eye widened as he recognised the seal designs written on the scroll. Biting her thumb to draw blood she swiped it across the scroll, she poured chakra into it. Mito took a deep breath before shouting...

_Flashback_

"_Use your blood to sign these two contracts." Naruto told her as she looked at the identical scrolls in front of her, these were the jutsu he wanted to show her. "I've already done it."_

_Cutting her thumb to draw a small amount of blood, a very confused Mito signed both the contracts. Once she was done Naruto nodded and rolled them back up. "Okay what now?" She asked._

"_Pass me your foot." Naruto spoke quickly. Mito, so confused that she didn't want to argue lifted up her foot. Naruto grabbed it, and quickly drew seals on the soles of her foot. When he finished she looked at the design on her foot, it was three swirls of black that connected into each other. A puzzled Mito looked back at her brother, who now had his own foot up showing the exact same design on his own foot. "It's a pact that I created, whenever you're in trouble, swipe blood on the scroll and pour your chakra into it. I'll be there in a flash." Naruto smirked, throwing her one of the scrolls "And it's vice versa for me,"_

"_What do I say to activate it?" Mito asked._

_Naruto's smirk turned into a small smile "When you pour chakra into the scroll, you activate the Jutsu by saying..._

_Flashback end_

"_**Summoning: Brother!**_"

**-Break-**

Naruto sat in his family's garden meditating. After a good training session in the morning it was good to relax. He thought about a few things.

His sword technique, he was recently given one and begun training, but he wondered how he could improve his technique. According to gossip, Sarutobi's son was able to cut people with a knife without even touching them.

He thought about how Mito was doing in her test, she hadn't tried summoning him yet, so she must have been doing well so far.

His thoughts turned to Teihaku, he often wondered what type of life Teihaku was living, because he sure wasn't dead. Was he having fun adventures or was he locked up somewhere alone?

Alone. The word reminded him of Gaara. The last time he saw him was 4 years ago. Gaara stopped coming to all of the Chunin exams with the Kazekage. He thought he and Gaara were friends, what could have happened to Gaara for him to just stop attending all these events?

An unnatural tug on his being and the feeling of the seal acting up on his foot indicated that Mito was trying to summon him. He stood up straight ready for whatever she was summoning him for.

**-Break-**

A poof of smoke erupted around the scroll. Sasuke and Sakura leaned forwards squinting trying to see through the smoke.

The smoke began clearing showing a boy slightly taller than Mito. His head was adorned with blond spikey hair and bright blue eyes and a confident smirk. His cheeks had three whisker like markings on each cheek. His upper body was clothed in a long sleeved black hoodie, the sleeves covering his hands. The orange claw-like marks were on each side of the hoodie at the waist similar to the marks on his cheeks, but thicker. His lower body had black shorts wrapped into bandages. A sheathed sword was strapped horizontally behind him at the waist.

"Kakashi." The boy spoke, his voice was calm and confident. "Do you recognise me?"

"Naruto." Kakashi answered. So this is how he had grown, to be the spitting image of his father.

Sasuke looked shocked, so this was her brother, Naruto. But Sasuke couldn't help but think that he had seen him somewhere before. Naruto's way of standing showed that he was confident with his abilities. _'But let's see if he can back it up.'_

Sakura blushed at her team mates brother. He was the spitting image of the Hokage, with the exception of those whisker marks. Sakura admitted to herself that Naruto very cool and handsome, but her love for Sasuke was too strong for her to change now.

"Mito." Naruto called. "I'm glad the Jutsu worked. Now I can present it to dad and the council."

"Wait. You didn't know if it would work!" Mito shouted in anger at her brother.

"No." Was Naruto straight answer, given with a slightly cheeky smile. "What do you need anyway?"

"You see those bells." Mito pointed to them. "I need therm before twelve. Can you help me get them Naru-nii. Kakashi-sensei said to come at him with the intent to kill."

The blonde Chunin's head turned towards Kakashi, a happy smirk etched on his face. "Really." Naruto spoke playfully. "Coming at the famous copycat Kakashi with the intent to kill."

Naruto seemingly vanished to Mito, Sasuke and Sakura. But for Kakashi, he was able to track Naruto's movements, but barely. Naruto came behind him, sword drawn slashing downwards, Kakashi back flipped away from him to dodge the swords slash. The sword dug deep into the ground. _'Those were low Jonin speeds, how can he already move that fast?'_ Kakashi thought, he also thought about relinquishing the right to come at him with the intent to kill.

"I'll handle this Mito. I don't want you getting in the way of my sword, I'm still new to using it." Naruto looked at his sister, who nodded in return.

Sakura was astonished by Naruto's speed, she didn't even see him move. He practically teleported in her eyes and to say he was new with the sword, when he handled it perfectly.

Sasuke was just as astonished. Naruto out sped his attacks easily. To say that he was fast was an understatement. Sasuke smirked as he looked at the only possible rival for him this village had to offer.

Naruto attack Kakashi again with his sword, slashes came from all directions at Kakashi, who instinctively drew a kunai to counter the sword. The two weapons clashed together, both wielders pushed against each other. Naruto showed remarkable strength for a twelve year old, pushing Kakashi back a tad, however it was not enough. With a single push of his own Kakashi forced Naruto backwards.

Naruto went straight back into the attack again, Kakashi blocked with his kunai again. But this time Naruto, using the blade's superior length, guided the sword around the kunai and cut into Kakashi's arm. Kakashi winced slightly in pain, but it was enough, Naruto jumped following his blade and forced his leg into Kakashi's head. This time kicking him backwards.

Both landed a distance away from each other. Kakashi was panting more than Naruto, he looked down at the cut in his arm, it was bleeding quite badly. His other arm went to his covered eye. _'I may have to step this game up.'_

"Planning to use that already." Naruto called from across the field. "Then I should prepare." Naruto's hands formed a cross that Kakashi knew all to well.

"_**Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!**_" Rung out.

25 poofs of smoke went off and were replaced by 25 exact copies of Naruto, all which seemed to be itching for a fight.

_'Solid clones!_' Was the collective thought of the three Genin watching. All three surprised by the number and authenticity of them.

Mito looked at the clones in awe. _'I didn't know Naru-nii could do that.'_

Sasuke seethed in jealousy at Naruto, not only did he manage to hit Kakashi, but his jutsu were already showing to be more impressive than his own.

The many clones darted towards Kakashi. Kakashi quickly sped through some hand seals. "Lightning Release Hound!" A dog shaped bot of lightning flew out of Kakashi's hand, it sped towards the Naruto clones decimating a number of them before targeting the original.

Naruto watched the lightning dog charge it's way towards him. Now would be the best time to try his new jutsu, he began spinning chakra in is hand, until a perfect blue sphere appeared in his hand.

_'That's the Yondaime's technique!'_ Sakura thought, she heard it was an incredibly hard technique to master, yet here it was being performed by a twelve year old, but then again he was the Yondaime's son and he was beginning to look cooler with every second that passed.

_'An A-Rank technique!'_ Sasuke was enraged. Where was all this power coming from, it surely couldn't be just because he was the Yondaime's son, there had to be something else, an intense training schedule, secret techniques used to rapidly increase, something else that made him that much stronger than himself.

_'The __**Rasengan**__.'_ Mito was shocked. _**'When did Naru-nii learn that. Did dad teach him it, why wasn't I taught it as well.'**_ Mito thought with jealousy at her brother, he was better than her in every way.

Kakashi was taking out the remaining clones while his hound targeted the original still connect to him by a bolt of lightning. "24." Kakashi cut the clone making it poof out of existence. _'Where's the last one.'_ Kakashi began looking around and saw the original Naruto forming the _**Rasengan**_, naturally he panicked. _'Sensei, taught him that already. And with his speed, he's sure to hit me!' _Kakashi quickly pulled his head band upwards, revealing the tool that made him famous. The Sharingan.

_'The Sharingan!'_ Sasuke looked at his sensei's eye. _'But why in only one eye. A transplant? Did he steal it from an other Uchiha!' _Theories began pouring into Sasuke's mind as to why his sensei had his clan's kekkei genkai.

The lightning hound dissipated. Instead a surge of lightning charged around Kakashi's hand. Naruto let loose a loud war cry and charged forwards, Kakashi sped towards Naruto calmly, they pushed their respective attacks towards the other. The attacks clashed in a blinding light. All who watched closed their eyes from the power the clashing attacks generated.

The light faded to show a shocking conclusion. Kakashi had hold of both Naruto's wrists, who was struggling to get free from the older man's grip. "Impressive, but still not enough." Kakashi panted. To use the lightning hound, his newest jutsu and the the _**Raikiri **_was exhausting. But he had caught Naruto.

Naruto stopped struggling and smirked. Turning his wrists he grabbed Kakashi's as well. Biting his lip and drawing a little blood, he spat the blood to Kakashi's left heading to the floor.

These actions confused Kakashi. Until he remembered Mito's earlier actions and the missing clone.

The final clone burst from the ground, with it's own summoning scroll opened, it caught the blood on the paper and forced it's own chakra into the scroll, the clone disappearing afterwards, but not before shouting the winning move.

"_**Summoning: Sister!**_"

Kakashi looked and saw Mito from a few hundred metre away vanish. For her to instantly reappear at his side. Plucking both the bells from his leg. Seconds later the timer went off with a loud ring. Mito had successfully retrieved the bells. Sasuke soon stomped into the field with Sakura hot on his tail.

"That was our plan sensei." Mito smiled. "Naru-nii would distract you while I retrieved the bells. We knew you wouldn't miss the opportunity to test your sensei's other child as well. No one really seen Naruto in years."

Kakashi knew he was beaten, the team work between them wasn't great, Naruto did most of the work. But it was something. "Well you retrieved the bells, but you didn't understand the point of the test, to build team work with your new team mates, not your brother. But because you retrieved the bells you pas, and you can have someone pass with you, which one will it be?" Kakashi turned to Sasuke and Sakura, Sasuke looked enraged and Sakura looked depressed.

Without hesitation Mito threw both the bells at Sasuke and Sakura, who caught one each. They looked puzzled at the gesture. "You two have the bells. I have a better chance of remaining a Genin without them anyway." Mito smiled.

"Oh, and why is that." Kakashi asked, sliding his headband back over his eye.

Mito chuckled darkly and tapped her fingers together in a rhythmic pattern. "You have no idea of the control a daughter has over her father."

Kakashi paled slightly at his blonde haired student's tone. _'Poor sensei.' _"Well anyways, you guys pass." He listened for Sakura's shriek in joy. Sasuke smirked victoriously and Mito beamed.

"Meet up back here tomorrow at 8:00am for training and we'll see about getting a few D-Rank missions." Kakashi gave an eye smile and a thumbs up.

"Mito." Naruto's voice called out, he had remained silent the entire time, leaning against the stump. They had almost forgot he was there.

'He's even cooler when he's close up.' Sakura thought dreamily. '**Wake up damn it! Remember Sasuke-kun is the one for us!**' Her inner voice berated her.

"I'm going on an important mission tomorrow, I'll be gone for about one week. Whatever happens you can not summon me, rely on your team mates this one time." Naruto informed her. Their father had asked him to escort Taki's Jinchuuriki to Konoha so their father could look over and mend their seal.

"Where are you going?" Mito asked sadly. She had come to enjoy what little time she spent with her older brother.

"Takigakure." Naruto replied quickly and walked off. Leaving the team to watch him walk away.

**-Break-**

Minato watched his sensei walk into his office. He had never seen him look so depressed. "What's up sensei?"

Jiraiya looked at Minato sadly, with a quick deep breath he informed him of the terrible news.

"I-I have discovered who assassinated Yagura."

* * *

**A/N:** Cliffhanger! So how did I do, read, review and no flames please, It's not like I've strapped you down and pointed a gun to your head ordering you to read...yet. So if you don't like don't read. Next chapter will be at some point updated. If you need any answers, pop a question in the reviews or PM me and I'll try to answer them.

**(1) **- Okay, in the manga Kisame killed the previous Samehada owner for leaking out information, but I liked the idea of killing the previous owner, so that's how the seven swords are gonna be passed down.**  
**

**(2)** - I was watching the old episodes like the Gaara vs. Naruto fight and Sasuke talks to Shino with some respect. Like just listen to how Sasuke talks to him. So I was gonna play that out with Shino being a friend to Sasuke, they're both quite, they both avoid hassle and are both mysterious.

Till next time.

**RINNE-KAMI OUT!**


	9. Chapter 6: Contact

A/N: Hey, Rinne-Kami here giving you chapter 9 of A Complete Family, Incomplete. Definately one of my favourite chapters yet, everything just seemed to flow onto the computer, very fun to write, i hope it's fun to read. Well let's get to it then.

Don't own Naruto.

"Speak"

'_Thought_'

"**Demon speak**"

_Flashback_

_

* * *

_

**Previously...**

_Minato watched his sensei walk into his office. He had never seen him look so depressed. "What's up sensei?"_

_Jiraiya looked at Minato sadly, with a quick deep breath he informed him of the terrible news._

"_I-I have discovered who assassinated Yagura."_

**-Break-**

Minato looked at his sensei in shock. "You have? Who did it?" Minato asked quickly.

"It was a member of an organisation called Akatsuki." Jiraiya responded.

"Akatsuki? Never heard of it." Minato looked at his sensei confused and anxious,

"They are a group of ten S-class missing-nin. One of their members is Itachi Uchiha." Jiraiya continued explaining. "I don't know hat their goal was for assassinating Yagura, but the fact they extracted the beast means that they wanted it alive. So that must mean that they must be planning to use the beasts in some way."

_'So this was the group Itachi joined.'_ Minato thought sadly about the boy. _'I just hope he doesn't get caught.'_

"And which member of this Akatsuki was it?" Minato asked trying to get as much information as possible. "If this one member could extract a beast from it's host then who know what the others could do."

Jiraiya put on a weak smile and scratched the back of his neck. "I...don't know which member it was. But I do know that Orochimaru was a member until recently."

"Was?" Minato caught that word more than the rest.

"It appears that he was either kicked out or voluntarily defected." Jiraiya spoke with a little interest in the matter. What could Orochimaru have done to get kicked out of a criminal organisation. This information of course shocked Minato, who wanted every bit of information on Orochimaru as possible. However Jiraiya stopped him before he could probe him for any more answers. "Orochimaru is the lesser threat compared to Akatsuki, we should focus on finding out information on them."

Minato frowned slightly before nodding. "You're right sensei. Did you learn anything from Kiri?"

"Couldn't get in." Jiraiya laughed it off. "They've heightened their security to the max. They don't want to give away any secrets on information yet. They're even on the brink of civil war again by being without a Kage for over two years."

Minato frowned again, this wasn't getting easier. "Keep trying to find out info sensei. This Akatsuki must be stopped, at all costs."

**-Break-**

"Hey forehead, where's Sasuke-kun?" Ino shouted loudly as she looked around for the Uchiha. The passing teams had arranged to gather so they could talk about their exams and teams. Along with Ino was already Choji and Shikamaru, who made up the passing team 10 and Kiba, Hinata and Shino, who made team 8.

"Sasuke-kun said he had something important to do." Sakura let out with a dreamy sigh. He expression quickly turned to one of annoyance. "Besides why would he want to hang out with you, Ino-pig!"

"What you say, billboard brow!"

"You heard me pig!"

Both girls got directly into each others face, growling, egging for the other to throw the first punch.

"Mito." Shino asked coolly, startling everyone with his voice. "How was your exam? Why do I ask? Because we are now comrades, even if we are on different teams."

"Uhh..." Mito responded, Shino had hardly ever spoke to her before, so he caught her off guard. "It was quite hard-"

Kiba immediately cut her off. "Ha! That just shows how weak your team is!" He laughed loudly. "Ours was a test to find Kurenai-sensei within a set time, which we did easily!"

"Shut up idiot!" Sakura punched Kiba hard on the head, crashing him into the floor, knocking him out. "Our team is the strongest. First we have me and my intelligence!" She puffed out her chest to get her point across. "Then we have the dreamboat super strong Sasuke-kun!" She squealed in delight at Sasuke's name. "Then we have Mito." She quickly said Mito's name and waved her hand up and down, as if indicating Mito was the weakest link. "And finally we have our secret weapon."

This got the other genin's attentions. "What secret weapon?" Choji asked between taking bites of his BBQ chips.

Sakura grinned evilly. "At the call of a summon, we have Mito's brother." Sakura watched as the other genin's eyes widened, and the once unconscious Kiba jumping up in shock.

"Mito's brother! You've met him!" Ino was once again directly in Sakura's face. "What was he like!"

"He was cool, but noway near as cool as Sasuke-kun." Sakura brushed off the question with a cocky smirk.

"Summon." Shikamaru asked curiously, the other Genin noted the interest in his voice, a very rare occurrence in the Nara. "Summoning is a difficult Jutsu built around manipulating time and space to teleport things to the user's exact location. How could he be at the call of a summon."

"Well because he and Mito have this contract between them that allows them to summon each other." Sakura spoke proudly as if it was her own work. Mito wanted to pummel her into the ground for spilling information so easily.

Shikamaru seemed to muse over this information for a moment. "Mito, how exactly is that contract actually in existence?"

Mito sighed, thanks to Sakura and her big mouth she would have to explain all this to the other teams. "Naru-nii created the summoning scrolls to do it with."

Shikamaru's eyes widened at this, yet the other Genin couldn't comprehend what was so bad about it. "He created a summoning system, troublesome." He mumbled.

"What's so bad about that?" Ino asked her lazy team mate. He only sighed and turned to look out the window, Ino growled in anger at him, but turned to Sakura and Mito. "So what was your exam? Ours was to capture and subdue Asuma-sensei, it was difficult at first but our abilities really seemed to work in sync."

"Our test was about teamwork, we were supposed to retrieve bells that Kakashi-sensei had within a time limit, thanks to Naruto we were able to pass." Sakura spoke in return.

"Thanks to Naruto?" Kiba asked.

Sakura began retelling the entire days event, in full detail, from each member trying to take the bell, to the arrival of Naruto and his abilities to Mito giving the bells to Sakura and Sasuke.

"Naruto sounds so cool." Ino sighed in the same way Sakura did minutes ago. "Plus he's the son of the Yondaime Hokage, that practically makes him the prince of Konoha, then he is strong and fast and can take on a Jonin. AND he's only our age" Ino sighed dreamily again.

"Wait. He was able to take on your sensei, a Jonin, who also happens to be the student of the Yondaime Hokage, yet still manage to overcome him and fight him almost equally." Shikamaru mused again, not liking the picture being painted in his head.

"Y-Yeah, but obviously Sasuke-kun had worn him out before Naruto arrived, making it easier for Mito to retrieve the bells." Sakura tried to defend Sasuke against the increasing reputation of Naruto.

"It sounds to me like Sasuke did squat against Kakashi, and Naruto didn't need to summon Mito to get the bells, he was just playing by the rules, one of the team had to get the bells, he isn't a direct member. So troublesome." Shikamaru sighed again.

"What's so troublesome damn it!" Ino shouted at her team mate, completely enraged at his behaviour.

"That this Naruto doesn't sound like he's a Chunin, it sounds more like he is at a Jonin level." Shikamaru sighed for a final time. The other Genin were shocked and silenced by his assumption. The silence was broken by Ino sighing again.

"You don't know how lucky you and Sasuke-kun are Sakura, I wish we could meet him as well."

"But Hinata's met him as well." Mito pointed to Hinata, who jumped slightly, blushed madly and waved her hands in front of her, trying to silently beg Mito not to tell them. Unfortunately Mito did not get the message. "She's the heiress to the most powerful clan in Konoha, so she's practically like a princess as well, so there's been some meetings between my dad and her dad when me and Hinata had to go and Naruto has been forced to attend." Mito spoke as if it was nothing.

"Hinata you cheat!" Ino yelled accusingly. "Why didn't you tell us. I bet you were trying to keep him all for yourself weren't you. How did your first meet him then!" Ino barked the order at the blue-haired girl, who began fidgeting under the blonde girl's glare.

Hinata tried looking for a way to escape, seeing none, she bit the bullet and began weakly telling the story of how she first met Naruto. "Um. Um. W-W-Well I first met him when I was training on one of the private training grounds away from the villagers...

_Flashback_

_Hinata was training furiously at the private training grounds, although no matter how much she tried, she never seemed to be making any progress. Neji was always getting further away from her and her sister was catching up. She was a disappointment to her family. She stopped training and stood stiff and still, tears began leaking for her Byakugan activated eyes._

_Her eyes noticed someone approaching, someone with a powerful chakra, and lots of it. She readied herself for any impending danger, but she knew that she would probably not be able to fend off whoever it was._

_The sound of footsteps come closer rung through her ears, followed by the rustling of some of the surrounding bushes, sweat began to drip from her forehead._

_Out of the bushes appeared a boy around ten years old, the same age as her. Hinata thought that this boy looked a lot like the Yondaime Hokage, same spikey blonde hair, same bright blue eyes, yet this boy's eyes were deeper, as if they were trying to mask something. Hinata almost didn't realise that her guard was dropping as she looked into his eyes._

"_I've never known anyone else using this training ground other than myself." The boy spoke first, softly. "I wonder, what are you doing out here?"_

_Hinata was a little startled by his voice. "I-I am training, as the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, I have to be strong." She tried to make her title sound threatening, so this boy would not try to mess with her._

"_The heiress of the Hyuuga clan, huh?" The boy smiled. "Then I am sorry for interrupting your training, Hyuuga princess, but if its the titles game you want to play, then as the son of the Yondaime Hokage, I ask you to accept my apology."_

_Hinata's eyes widened, this was the son of the Hokage, no wonder he looked just like him. This was Mito's brother, Naruto, the Chunin at age five, the reclusive one, the one that the villagers spoke highly of but also seemed fearful of him._

"_N-Naruto-sama!" Hinata quickly bowed to him, slightly fearful, she had been rather rude to him, if he was going to punish her, she deserved it. Naruto walked forwards and Hinata clenched her eyes shut. Naruto stopped just in front of her. She waited for anything that was going to happen next._

"_No one's ever bowed to me before."_

_Hinata's eyes opened and she darted upright, she caught the boy looking at her confused, generally freaked out at her reaction to his title._

"_I-I'm sorry Naruto-sama I'll leave now." Hinata tried to leave quickly but Naruto grabbed onto her arm, stopping her in her tracks._

"_You can stay, I was just coming here for some training, but the grounds it big enough to share." Naruto said as her let go of her arm and moved to the other end of the grounds and began his own training._

_Hinata, not wanted to disobey him moved to the other side of the grounds, she began her work on the gentle fist technique. She practised for a while but still she was not making any progress with her technique, she did it the exact same way as her father and Neji, but she was just weaker than them, what's more was she was embarrassing herself and her clan in front of the Hokage's son with her weak form._

"_Why do you use that style?" She heard Naruto say, it looked like he had been watching her for a while._

"_T-The Gentle fist uses the Byakugan to target Chakra points in the body, effectively making blocking them from using chakra if the user pushes-"_

"_I know what the Gentle fist style is." Naruto spoke with a frown on his face, as if he had been insulted. "I meant why do you use it the way you do. You are trying to use force to power you're attacks in faster, why?"_

"_I-I-t is the same way that my father and Neji-nii-san use it, and they are both very strong." Hinata confessed. She saw Naruto look at her weirdly._

"_You can't compare to them." Naruto spoke bluntly, Hinata's heart shattered, already she had proven that she was weak to the Yondaime Hokage's son. Tears began forming in her eyes as she dropped her head in shame._

"_Not by using that form anyway." Hinata's head sprung back up, eyes widened. She looked at Naruto, who was looking at her in the eyes with seriousness._

"_Men have naturally stronger muscles compared to females, your father and your brother**(1)** use that natural superiority to make they're attacks stronger and quicker, something that you can't compare to, but females have their own superiority over men; flexibility. Instead on focusing on making attacks more powerful, focus on outmanoeuvring your opponents with quick reflexes and strikes, then your true strength will shine." Naruto finished smiling at Hinata, who couldn't help but blush at his smile._

"_I'll leave now. Think about what I said. I can tell that you will be very strong one day, confidence is the first step, do not be afraid to reach for the impossible goals." Naruto walked away after flashing one last smile. Hinata smiled weakly back, before turning to her training post._

"_Focus on my natural superior flexibility." Hinata, with a new found determination began hitting the stump again, and it was all thanks to Naruto._

_A blush appeared on her face when she thought of the blonde._

_Flashback end _

_'So that's where she got the idea from.' _Shino thought as he listened to Hinata tell her story.

Everyone looked at Hinata intently, the silence was once again broken by Ino's squeals of delight. "And he's caring and wise too!" She squealed out. "Sakura, you can have Sasuke, I think I just found a new man!" Ino spoke confidently, everyone around her sweat dropped. However no one noticed the small frown appear on Hinata's face.

Ino turned to Mito and cupped both her hands in her own. "Please Mito, you gotta introduce me to him, please!" She began begging.

Mito was completely freaked out, sure she had been friends with Ino, but not that good friends. However...it would be funny to see how Naru-nii reacts to a girl flirting with him. Girls in her class always asked her about her reclusive, strong and mysterious brother.

"Alright Ino." Mito smiled. "Let's go see if he's at home." She began walking towards her house, with Ino directly behind her.

**-Break-**

Mito groaned slightly, the others had decided to follow her as well, now she had seven people coming with her to find her brother at her house.

They arrived at Mito's house and Mito opened the door. Kushina came out wearing a cooking apron over her regular clothes. "Hey Mito, what's all this then?" Kushina smiled as she looked around at the kids. "Having some kind of party for passing?"

"Kind of." Mito lied, it seemed easier at the moment. "Have you seen Naru-nii, Mom?"

"Yes, he left to get some last minute training before his mission tomorrow, he won't be home till later." Kushina smiled at her daughter, the sound of Ino's sigh indicated that that wasn't the answer they wanted to hear.

**-Break-**

Naruto sliced through the army of his clones, his sword technique improving with every clone cut down, which were also learning to block with their own cloned swords. Every cut, every parry, every blocked went back to the original Naruto's body gaining experience in the blink of an eye.

Naruto and his clones stoppered, with a nod they poofed out of existence. Naruto fell to the floor, the experience came with their fatigue as well. He panted hard, he had always had unnaturally high stamina, that was the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi. Perhaps it was time. Time he spoke to it, he remembered Bee, Yagura and Han at the Chunin exams all those years ago. They were all much more adept at controlling their beasts than he was, he hadn't even spoke to it before.

_'If I must live with it, I might as well use it.' _Naruto closed his eyes, he began searching, searching for a way to contact the Kyuubi. He looked for the slightest opening into his subconscious.

**-Break-**

Naruto's eyes opened to see him in a sewer. It was not dirty, the water was clean, but he was obviously in a sewer. He stood up and looked around, the walls were covered in paintings. He walked along the sewer, looking at all the paintings, he recognised brief images, images of his mother kissing him goodnight, images of him and his sister playing, of him and Itachi sitting under the stars, of Gaara, of Bee, of everything. The paintings began overlapping each other messing up each individual painting, making it impossible to understand each painting's significance.

"Are these...my memories." Naruto touched the image of what appeared to be the most recent. A summon scroll in his hand, bursting from the ground. However Kakashi's face close up was in the background. As soon as he touched it the painting began moving, showing exactly what had transpired during Mito's test.

"I see, the clones memories are recorded as well, so it is like look at two different camera angles at the same time." Naruto heard a low growl, deepened by the echoes of the sewer, he walked in the direction of the growl, positive that it would lead him to his goal.

He entered a clearing above him was four sets of chains hanging from the wall. What were they signifying. However, this was the least attention grabbing item in the room. Across the room was a massive gate, held shut by what appeared to be a speck. Naruto approached the gate and learned that the speck was in fact a piece of paper, "SEAL" written clearly on it.

"**So my jailer finally pays me a visit. How...uninteresting."** A red eye shot open from behind the bars of the gate, a red eye that Naruto recognised all to well, it haunted his dreams. "**I can only assume you're hear to attempt to take control of my powers.**" A deep laugh was present after the sentence.

"So you're the Kyuubi." Naruto looked at the monster's eye. "You are a pest. And you will give me your power." Naruto ordered.

Naruto words were responded to be a deep and hearty laugh. "**Is that anyway to talk to the one who told you about your brother.**" The eye widened in glee. Hoping to provoke the boy.

"That was you?" Naruto looked at the Kyuubi's eye. It's iris the same colour as Teihaku's hair. "You were the one who created the dreams?" Naruto began wondering. Wondering if what the Kyuubi had shown him was real or not. No doubt there was someone called Teihaku, his parents confirmed that on the night he had the first dream, but did Teihaku look like what the Kyuubi had shown him, or was it just trying to toy with his mind.

"**The very same. I felt it my duty to tell you about you're brother, seeing as no one else was going to do it, you are my host for the time being after all, also I was hoping you're rage would tap into my power.**"

"And how do you know Teihaku? If I myself have never met him in person." Naruto asked sceptically.

"**Teihaku and myself happen to be old acquaintances. He even keeps in contact with me, he is up to big things you know.**" The Kyuubi spoke, grinning when the boy's eyes widened. "**We tailed beasts all have our own unique traits. Ichibi can control sand, Sanbi can manipulate illusions in the deepest mists, Gobi can harness steam, I myself detect emotions of the most negative kind, even from within you I feel it, that euphoric fear everyone feels for me, the pleasurable hatred the Uchiha brat holds. However a few stand out more than the rest, one of them is Teihaku, even when he is miles away I still feel his rage, his fury...his emptiness. I once believed that it was your blood connection to him that was doing it, however an older connection has begun to resurface, a type of malice that even I myself loathe. Teihaku is close to this malice, and he will never escape it now.**" Kyuubi noticed that Naruto was hanging on his every word. The boy must obviously want to know as much as he can about Teihaku.

"**Would you like to know more about you're brother Naruto?**" Kyuubi asked. "**Come and tear this seal off and I will tell you everything about Teihaku, even his current location.**"

Kyuubi looked in glee as after a few minutes of hesitation, Naruto began moving towards the gates. Every step the boy took, he was coming closer to his freedom.

Naruto took small steps towards the Kyuubi, he would find Teihaku, the Kyuubi knew where he was, with it's help he could finally find Teihaku.

Kyuubi's help.

The Kyuubi's help.

The Kyuubi was a creature of malice, something that served itself first, so why would it offer help, release the seal to get help. Kyuubi was manipulating him into releasing it, and it was succeeding.

Naruto smirked and stopped in his tracks. Kyuubi's eye widened. "I will find Teihaku by myself, you Kyuubi will remain in here, locked away from the world." Naruto turned around and began to leave.

A loud ferocious roar boomed through the sewers. "**DO NOT DARE TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!**" Kyuubi roared in rage. "**I AM EVERYTHING YOU NEED! A LIFE OF GOOD WILL ONLY GET YOU SIX FEET UNDER, DARKNESS IS THE ONE TRUE LIGHT! YOU WILL ACCEPT MY POWER!**"

"I WILL NOT ACCEPT YOUR POWER!" Naruto roared in return. "YOU WILL OFFER THAT POWER, YOUR LIFE IS CONNECTED TO MINE YES, THEN I WILL PUT MYSELF IN TO CERTAIN DEATH SITUATIONS, UNTIL YOU BEG ME TO ALLOW YOU TO GIVE ME YOUR POWER TO SAVE YOURSELF. YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY OVER ME! IF DARKNESS IS THE ONLY LIGHT, THEN I SHALL CLOSE MY EYES TO THE LIGHT!"

Both looked at each other dead in the eyes, each unwavering. The Kyuubi began to chuckle. **"Such charisma, I haven't seen so much since the Shodaime Hokage, you have proven yourself interesting. For that I will give you the smallest taste of the power you could possess."**

Red chakra began to leak through the sewers gates following Naruto out of the sewers. As soon as Naruto passed the the opening into the opening, the chains began to moving by themselves. Kyuubi watched the chains wrap around the limbs of an individual. The figure was weak and breathing heavily, the sound of sobbing resounded.

"Why?" The figure spoke between sobs. "Why don't they appreciate me?... Why do they hate me? Why do they blame me for something that wasn't my fault?... It wasn't my fault?... It wasn't my fault? It wasn't my fault? IT WAS HIS FAULT! BECAUSE OF HIM I AM ALONE, I AM HATED. IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF HIM! BECAUSE OF MY FATHER!"

Kyuubi looked at the screaming figure, the sly grin foxes became famous for appear on it's face.

"**So the manifestation of the other one begins...**"

**-Break-**

Naruto's eyes shot open back in the training ground, however they were not his eyes, the pupil slitted, the iris blood red. His canines began to elongate, his nails sharpened to claws. The whiskers adorned on his face darkened and thickened. His eyes darted to his shoulder, red chakra bubbles out of his skin, covering his entire body. With one load roar, the air was filled with malicious intent, one that hasn't been felt for twelve years.

**-Break-**

"T-That chakra." A veteran shinobi spoke weakly, he had been out shopping for groceries with his wife and daughter, this was a chakra that couldn't be forgotten. He looked around other older shinobi recognised it as well, the younger paralysed with fear.

As soon as the chakra was there it had vanished. The shinobi's guards were still up, but the panic had begun to subside. The question on everyone's mind was: What could possibly be going on?

**-Break-**

Minato stared out of his office window, searching for the location of the chakra's exact point.

"Minato!" Hiruzen voice appeared behind him, Minato saw the the aged Hokage was ready for battle. "I assume you felt it too? The Kyuubi's chakra."

"Yes, I did." Minato looked out the window again. _'What could you possibly be doing, Naruto?'_

**-Break-**

The chakra poured back into his body, forming a cloak of chakra, a tail sprouting from behind, long ears on the head. Naruto flexed his hand and smiled. He could feel an increase in power in an instant, the Kyuubi was dark and ruthless and sickening, but Naruto couldn't deny, it was strong. Bee and Yagura had managed to control their Jinchuuriki, perhaps he could learn as well.

He punched the air, the chakra on his arm extended for, smashing through several trees and a boulder, before returning to Naruto. The chakra faded back into Naruto's body. The red eyes returning to brilliant blue.

_'The power is too destructive. I'm not ready yet. The Kyuubi will have too much control over me.' _Naruto flexed his hand again. Naruto's eyes darted to the right. "Come out!"

**-Break-**

Sasuke watched everything that transpired intently, that chakra wasn't normal, it wasn't even human, it was something much worse. How did he manage to summon that power, could Mito use it as well?

"Come out!" Sasuke heard Naruto shout, Naruto was also looking in his direction. Sasuke stepped out into the clearing slowly.

"Sasuke Uchiha, why are you here?" Naruto asked, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.

"I'm here because you are strong, stronger than any of the excuses of passing genin. To achieve my goals I must be strong, strong than you, you will be the biggest stepping stone towards my own brother." Sasuke spoked with a glare.

"Itachi. There is no way you could ever hope to defeat him. Give up on that dream Sasuke, you are weak." Naruto spoke bluntly and harshly, but why? Did the Kyuubi still have a bit of control over him, or was Naruto speaking from the heart.

Sasuke growled with rage before charging forwards towards the blonde. He swung at the blonde, who easily dodged. Sasuke felt his arm being grabbed, followed by a knee in the stomach before being thrown across the clearing, his back crashing into a boulder.

Sasuke opened his eyes in pain and saw Naruto standing tall above him, the sun being blocked behind his body.

"Calm down and think." Naruto spoke, he himself was calm. " I knew Itachi, he was never the type to attack mindlessly. As his brother you should of realised that as well, try to learn why Itachi did what he did. But to understand you must first forgive."

Sasuke growled in anger. "What could you possibly understand! You, the son of the Hokage, everything is showered onto you! You have no idea of pain and loneliness! I know why Itachi did it, to test his own capabilities! I understand him, I understand his motives and I understand you! You're all talk!"

Naruto's eyes flashed red. Killing intent rolled off his body and onto Sasuke. Sasuke felt like his throat was closing, that his brain was trying to destroy itself. This killing intent was worse than Itachi's on that night.

The killing intent was so bad that it activate the Uchiha defence mechanism in Sasuke, his eyes changed to a blood red, two black tomoe appeared in his right eye and one tomoe appeared in his left. Sasuke's Sharingan awakened, and now he could see what Naruto was.

His chakra was demonic, it was malicious, as if it had a life of it's own. The chakra began fading and a regular blue chakra appeared in Naruto's body.

Naruto looked Sasuke dead in the eye, calm but serious.

"Do not attempt to understand me or my pain."

Naruto vanished with a gust of wind, leaving Sasuke alone in the clearing.

**-Break-**

Naruto appeared right in front of house house compound's front door. As he walked through the door, he couldn't help feel like something was off. He entered the house and went straight through to the kitchen, where he found Mito, her pink haired teammate and six other kids sitting around, they were all looking at him in wonder, he recognised one of them, Hinata, the timid girl he had met when he was forced to go to those meetings, but the rest were new faces. The face that scared him the most was the platinum haired girl, her starry-eyed stare was creeping him out.

"Hi Naru-nii, we are having a little graduation party. You're welcome to join us." Mito smiled at her brother.

"But I didn't graduate. I have no reason to be at this party ." Naruto calmly stated, just then he felt extra weight on his arm, the blonde girl from moments ago had latched onto his arm. _'How did she move that fast!' _Naruto stared at where she was sat and where she was now.

"Nonsense!" She spoke loudly in his ear. "As Mito's brother, your more than welcome to join us!" The girl dragged him towards the group and sat down next to him. "I'm Ino, by the way!"

"A pleasure. I'm Naruto." Naruto replied, he tried fidgeting his arm loose of the girl's grip.

Ino looked at the blonde boy, impressed. He was everything she imagined him to be, she could feel through his long sleeved shirt the muscles on his arm, his face a spitting image of the Hokage's. Even the whisker marks on his face, they made him look tribal, rebellious. "Introduce yourselves!" She shouted at the rest of the group.

"Shikamaru Nara" A black haired boy sighed, his hair tied back into a spiky ponytail. His facial expression was lazy, lazier than Kakashi's.

"Choji Akimichi. Hi." A large boy said between eating snacks. His face was round with a red swirl of each cheek. Brown hair was held up by his headband.

"Shino Aburame." A boy with a high collar covering the lower of his face spoke. Black sunglasses blocked his eyes from view. His dark brown hair standing up spiked.

"Yo. Kiba Inuzuka!" A boy with red markings on his cheeks grinned. His hood covered his hair from view, his facial features were angry, yet happy at the same time. With him was a little white dog resting on his head.

"H-Hello, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata spoke timidly, the other looked at her weirdly. '_kun?_'

"Hello Hinata." Naruto sighed a bored sigh. He really didn't want to be here, he had to prepare for his mission tomorrow. But this Ino wouldn't drop her vice grip on his arm, he was beginning to contemplate cutting it off with his sword, blood circulation had already stopped a few minutes ago.

"We've met but not properly, I'm Sakura Haruno." Mito's pink haired teammate spoke with a smile.

"And I'm Mito Namikaze." Mito introduced herself as well, just in case. Ino could be really scary when she was angry.

"And I'm Ino Yamanaka!" Ino reminded him.

"Uh. Hello." Naruto waved to them with his free hand. "Could you let go of me now."

"So tell us about yourself Naruto, you're hobbies, you're dislikes, what you look for in a girl." Ino began bombarding him with questions at an alarming rate.

Inwardly Naruto began panicking, he was hoping for someone to get him away from them all.

Someone must of heard him because at that moment, his father walked into the kitchen.

"Y-Yondaime-sama!" Ino blushed slightly. Her grip on Naruto's arm loosened, enabling him to slip his arm out of her death lock.

"Hi dad!" Mito smiled widely at her father, he was never home at this time of the day.

Minato flashed a quick smile to her before turning to Naruto. "Naruto, I need to talk to you. It's important." Minato walked back out of the room, Naruto quickly followed him out, flexing his arm, trying to get the blood back.

**-Break-**

Naruto followed his father to his study, shutting the door behind him, Naruto sighed in relief. "Thanks for getting me out of there dad." Naruto looked up and saw his father looking down at him sternly, a face he never showed before.

"Naruto. The Kyuubi's chakra flared in the village a couple of hours ago, sending everyone into panic. What were you doing?" Minato asked, his voice as stern as his face.

Naruto didn't want to lie about what happened, what could be wrong about learning to control the Kyuubi, it would be better than having no control at all. "I spoke to the Kyuubi for the first time today."

Minato's face didn't falter. "And what did it say?"

Naruto was about to make up a story to cover what really happened. But he found that it might be more interesting to find out how far his parents were willing to go to cover the life of Teihaku. "It started talking about some guy...a guy with spiky red hair. It was saying that he had a special connection to me."

"What guy?" Minato's stern voice repeated.

"A person named Te-. Uh...Ti-. Teihaku. But I never heard the name before, so it startled me. Then the Kyuubi in my surprise tried to take over me, but I managed to suppress it. Whose Teihaku?" Naruto lied.

"I don't know." Minato once stern voice was gone, replaced with a croaky, quiet voice. As if he was struggling to get those words out.

Naruto smiled, this was a low. To deny Teihaku's existence to his face. "Then the Kyuubi was just making him up to get me confused I guess." Naruto shrugged.

Minato nodded slowly, he seemed to accept it. "So what happens now?" Minato asked him. "I mean, with the Kyuubi's chakra."

"I'm gonna try to learn to control it. So I can be a good Jinchuuriki. Just like Bee." Naruto smiled

Minato smiled in return and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Think I'll stay up here. That Ino girl's scaring me." Naruto looked at the door. Minato laughed at his son. It was his first time dealing with a girl who liked him, that was obvious, but it wouldn't be his last.

**-Break-**

"Be safe Naruto." Kushina hugged her son, he was leaving for his mission, Minato, herself and Mito coming to see him off at the gates of the village. Kushina jumped slightly when she felt his arms wrap around her, something her had not done in a long time, but they had never done anything together as a family for a long time. She let go of her son a smiled, Naruto smiled back slightly.

"Good luck Naru-nii." Mito quickly hugged her brother than let him go. Moving on before he had a chance to react, he was always to cool to accept hugs from his sister.

Minato came next and stood with his arms crossed. "Are you sure you don't want any back up for this mission?" Minato looked down at his son.

Naruto nodded. "Any back up you send wouldn't be able to understand what me and the escort talk about." Naruto looked at his dad, who understood what he was talking about.

"I should be back in a week." Naruto spoke again.

Minato nodded. "Hurry back."

At that moment Naruto hugged Minato, an incredibly awkward situation for the both of them. Naruto did it because he just felt that it was the right thing to do. Naruto quickly let go "See ya." With that he ran out of the village, towards his mission objective.

**-Break-**

Mito watched the cat being choked by the Daimyo's wife, she didn't feel the slightest bit of sympathy for it. It deserved it, making them chase around after it all day.

"Dad, can we please have a better mission." Mito pleaded.

"Sorry, Mito, standard protocol, new Genin teams can only take D-rank missions until their sensei deems them ready for harder missions." Minato apologised to his daughter.

"I think they're ready sensei." Kakashi spoke bored, he was quite happy doing D-rank missions, but if he said they weren't he'd get an earful from all three of them.

"Really." Minato's eyebrow rose. "Well, there's a C-Rank escort mission here, but I doubt you'd want that-"

"We'll take it!" Mito shouted answering for her team.

Minato smiled. "Very well, send in the client." He asked a Konoha shinobi, who left. A few minutes later, an aged man entered the room, he appeared drunk, evident by the Sake bottle in his hand. "These are the people who are escorting me, they're just a bunch of kids!" The man hiccuped. "Hey. This blonde one looks a lot like you." The man looked at Mito, then to Minato.

"Tazuna-san this is team 7, Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Mito Namikaze. They will be more than enough for this mission." Minato smiled.

The man, Tazuna looked at the group. "Very well then. I'd like to leave right away, get ready!" He slammed the door shut.

Everyone looked at Mito, she shrugged her shoulders "Better than weeding a garden." She left through the door going to prepare for the mission.

**-Break-**

Naruto looked at Takigakure, he was impressed, the village hid in the undercut of the massive water, safe in a small cave leading into a wide opening, flora bloomed everywhere in a set of different colours. He looked at the massive tree in the background, all in all Taki appeared to be a nice place to leave visually. But he continued on with his mission.

"Excuse me." Naruto attracted the attention of a passing Taki shinobi. "I'm here on behalf of Konoha as an escort for one, Fū, do you know where they are?"

The shinobi looked at Naruto like he had been insult. "Why would I care where she is." The shinobi promptly walked away.

Naruto's eyebrow rose. What was that about, was she another like Gaara, scorned from her village. For the next few hours Naruto walked around Taki. Asking for Fū's whereabouts, people either ignored the question or told him not to associate with the girl, and it was beginning to annoy him, it would be easier just looking around instead of asking for help. He scanned high and low for Fū, it wasn't easy seeing as he didn't know what she looked like.

He came to overgrown reeds near the bed of the water, they must have been 4 metres tall. He pushed through them with effort, the reed's weight suddenly stopping fighting against him and he fell forwards, he landed in a small clearing, and he wasn't alone.

A girl with dark skin sat across the clearing. She appeared to be around his age. Bright, spiky mint green hair framed her face down to shoulder level, the hair adorned with an orange hair clip that matched the colour of her pupilless eyes. Her outfit consisted of a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with fishnet armour underneath, long white armlets, and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt over it. Her forehead protector was worn on her arm. On her back was a red cylindrical object that Naruto couldn't comprehend it's usage.

She was muttering to herself in a whisper. So quietly that Naruto couldn't understand what she was saying.

"Are you Fū?" Naruto asked her, the girl looked up angrily.

"Whose asking?" She replied harshly.

"I am Naruto Namikaze, I am here to escort you to Konoha for the Hokage to check and update your seal." He replied, the girl's eyes hardened drastically.

"Good one. This is just another attempt from my village to get rid of me, they all hate me. And it's not even my fault." She looked back to the ground, sadly. "Go away, Naruto Namikaze, no one else talks to me, why should you be any different."

Naruto sighed and moved towards her. "I should probably explain the reason why I was chosen for this mission." He stretched his back and looked up. "I am the only one from my village who could understand you. Because I am a Jinchuuriki as well."

Fū's head sprung up. "Y-You are a Jinchuuriki too." She stared at her kindred spirit. "Do they hate you too?"

"What?"

"Your village, do they hate you too?" She repeated her question.

Naruto sighed and sat down next to her. His face was contemplative "Good question. I'm not sure, I think they do, I can feel their hate sometimes, but because of who I am, I feel like they have to like me, less they invoke my father's wrath."

"And who is your father, God?" Fū replied snidely.

"Close, he apparently can't do no wrong. He's the Yondaime Hokage. I feel like because of him they do their best to like me, but they can never shift the hatred from their mind. They feel like I will never be able to control the beast inside" Naruto spoke.

Fū returned to looking at the ground. "The same for me, the villagers despise me, I have no important family members, they have no need to like or appreciate me, so they don't. I-I hate them because I can't prove them wrong. That I can control the beast inside."

Naruto looked at her softly, sympathy for the girl flew through his body. "My father is a master at seals, he'll improve the seal to make it easier to control, then you can prove to your village your right to exist, that you are a hero to them." He stood up and smiled. His hand extending in front of her.

Fū looked at him in those deep blue eyes. _'He called me a hero.'_ Fū thought, she had never been given a compliment of any kind. A faint blush appeared on her face as she smiled slightly and grabbed his hand. Her hoisted her to her feet. She nodded at the blonde.

"Let's go."

* * *

A/N: Well chapter 9 done and dusted. As I said before, one of my favourite chapters. Although there is one thing I should explain. Naruto's personality with Sasuke isn't really him, The Kyuubi's chakra is mixed into it's will. So when Naruto used it it had some control and it's will apeared as well, Naruto hasn't learned to separate them yet. Naruto also seems to be having mixed personalities but that is because he has been so reclusive that he doesn't know how to interact with others.

**(1)** Hinata called him Neji-nii-san so Naruto thought he was her brother.

Gonna update To Become A Master soon, although I have lost the will to write it, I am hoping the next chapter will reignite my passion for writing it...


	10. Chapter 7: The Waves of Destiny

**A/N:** Howdy ho! Well, 10 chapters, quite a milestone. I can't actually beleive I have written something ten chapter long. First of all I would like to thank you guys for reading it for me, it really is much appreciated. But alas the show must go on. So without further ado I give to you. A Complete Family, Incomplete Chapter 10.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto.

"Speak"

_'Thought'_

_**Jutsu**_

* * *

"Kakashi Hatake."

A voice spoke calmly.

Kakashi and his team looked up at where the massive sword hand landed, a man with spiky brown hair and white bandages around his face stood balanced on it. Looking over his shoulder down at them.

"Zabuza Momochi, A-Rank missing-nin from Kirigakure, wanted for the attempted assassination of the Mizukage." Kakashi detailed.

"Ah but it looks like someone already beat me to that, didn't they?" Zabuza spoke in an almost friendly manner.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi spoke with slight anger.

"Didn't you know?" Zabuza seemed generally surprised. "The Mizukage was assassinated two years ago, by someone younger than us, he was more about round their age." Zabuza pointed to Sasuke.

_'Someone our age, can kill a Kage.' _Mito thought fearfully. She hoped she would never have to meet this guy.

"That's enough, Zabuza." Kakashi spoke, pulling out a kunai. Pointing it threateningly at Zabuza.

"What an honour it will be to kill you." The man spoke calmly, killing intent rolling off his body. Kakashi looked over to his team , they seemed to be paralysed with fear. Sasuke's hand shook violently.

"Calm down Sasuke, I'll protect you with my life. I refuse to let my comrades die." Kakashi smiled at all three of them. Suddenly their sensei seemed so much cooler.

Mito looked up at Zabuza perched on the massive sword, he looked back at her and his eyes widened slightly, before he began laughing loudly. "What an honour it is to meet you to." Zabuza laughed out. Mito's brow furrowed.

"What are you talking about?" She spoke aloud, fear clearly still in her voice. She wanted Naru-nii, she wanted her brother to come and save her from this man. However Naruto's words rang through her head. _"You can't summon me for about a week, maybe two."_

"Mito Namikaze." Zabuza spoke, startling Mito, Sakura and Sasuke. "You're name just might be more famous than my own. But it is not for accomplishments of battle, it is simply because of your blood. Tell me girl, in your precious Konoha, how many people have you killed?"

Mito stumbled at the question. The truth, she had killed none.

"Konoha and their foolish morals." Zabuza sighed when she didn't answer his question. "They train people to be ninjas, to be killers yet teach them not to kill in a kill or be killed world. When I was your age, I had already killed 156 people. That number has increased tremendously over my busy life, now..."

"Five more will join them." The same voice spoke from behind them. But Zabuza was still perched on his sword. They turned around slowly, another Zabuza stood in the middle of their formation. The sword ready to strike.

The sword came swing down at Mito, Sakura was too stunned to do anything, she looked close to fainting. Sasuke had calmed down, if he cowered in this man's presence then he was never going to be ready for Itachi. He activated his Sharingan, everything seemed to slow down. He looked at the Zabuza next to him, his chakra was considerably low. _'A clone.'_ Sasuke thought, he tightly gripped the kunai in his had and slashed the busy clone from the side at the neck, cutting deeply in his neck, the clone turned to water and splashed onto the floor.

Zabuza watched his _**Mizu bunshin **_collapse, he began laughing instantly. "So I even meet Konoha's last Uchiha on this day as well!" Zabuza laughed loudly. Sasuke flinched at that nickname.

"Oh. But you're not the last one are you?" Zabuza instantly stopped laughing. "There's the older one, the one with the creased face and filled to the brim with evil."

Sasuke's gaze instantly hardened. He charged towards Zabuza, roaring loudly. Kakashi quickly grabbed him and threw him back to his original position.

"I will deal with Zabuza, Sasuke, you focus on protecting Tazuna, Sakura and Mito!" Kakashi ordered, his hand going to his headband, he lifted it revealing his _**Sharingan**_.

"Oh, planning to use that already are you, I'm honoured, you are worthy of the title ninja." Zabuza spoke make the Ram hand seal. _**"Kirigakure no Jutsu."**_

A thick mist shrouded the entire area. Kakashi's eye darted in every direction. "Team!" He called. "Protect Tazuna!"

"Protect the bridge builder." Zabuza's voice rung through the air calmly. "The person you should be worried about the most Kakashi...**IS YOURSELF**!"

Kakashi turned in time to block the massive sword, the sheer weight of it was already becoming to much to bear, adding Zabuza's downwards force, Kakashi knew he would be dead, if he didn't counteract.

"To be able to see through even my mist. You are strong Kakashi." Zabuza grinned.

Kakashi took no time to exchange words, quickly he kicked Zabuza away and onto the small lake besides them.

"A foolish mistake Kakashi." Zabuza sheathed his sword. "You've pulled yourself onto my battle field." With that Zabuza began running through a long series of hand seals. A series that Kakashi knew well, not wasting time he copied Zabuza's movements catching up to him on where he was in the sequence, they both struck the final hand seal at the same time.

"_**Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"**_

Simultaneously, two large amounts of water formed into the shape of Dragons, one behind Kakashi and one behind Zabuza. Both dragon's clashed together, clashing violently, but neither were getting the upper hand. The overwhelming sound of water crashing against more water eventually dying down.

Zabuza and Kakashi clashed again, his decapitating carving knife against Kakashi's kunai, both pressing against each other with full force, Zabuza without gravity's help was now equally matched against Kakashi. He jumped back and ran around, Kakashi following his every movements, it was then Zabuza realised.

Zabuza and Kakashi were currently going through a different set of hand seals.

_'Impossible!'_ Zabuza thought shocked. _'Before he was copying me, now I am copying him!'_

Kakashi finished the sequence a head of Zabuza. _**"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"**_

A large circle of water erupted around Kakashi, the water compressed into one giant shot of water that blasted towards Zabuza, hitting him directly in the middle of his body, the blast expanded to a humongous size, tearing through the land and trees, Zabuza caught in the middle of it, washing Zabuza off of the lake and landing hard against a tree.

Kakashi moved towards Zabuza, kunai in hand ready to deliver the final blow.

"Did you...read my mind?" Zabuza panted out weakly.

"No, I just copied you so fast that I took the lead." Kakashi responded bluntly, he lifted the kunai high, preparing to strike the Demon of the Hidden Mist down.

Two Senbon flew out of the trees and struck Zabuza in the neck, his body collapsed onto the floor. Kakashi watched a Kiri ANBU dart down and pick up Zabuza's body.

"I thank for the opening you made Kakashi Hatake. Do not fear, he is dead now. I will dispose of the body." The ANBU spoke in a calm voice. With that he quickly disappeared with Zabuza's body in a _**Shunshin**_.

Kakashi watched the two disappear. He slowly covered his Sharingan eye back over with his Konoha headband. As soon as the eye was covered fatigue hit him. He heard the shouting of Mito and Sakura's approaching voices. Knowing they were safe, he dropped to the ground. His eyes looked at the spot where Zabuza and the Kiri ANBU once were. He had one thought run through his mind before passing out. _'Strange?'_

**-Break-**

Naruto and Fū were walking slowly towards Konoha, Fū couldn't help but steal glances of the blonde haired boy. However, the glances became stares, Naruto didn't actually seem to notice she was staring at him, he looked that same way, always thinking. She had to say something to him, something to start a conversation with him, she was a Kunoichi, she shouldn't be scared of talking to a boy.

"You know, you always look like you're thinking about something." Fū almost whisperingly admitted to him.

Naruto's eyes shifted to her. "That's because I AM always thinking about something." Naruto replied dully.

"Oh. What are you thinking about?" She curiously asked him.

Naruto groaned in annoyance. _'Why do girls always have to ask so many questions?_' He wandered to himself. He looked at Fū, she had been taken back at his expression, she also look a little heart broken. Guilt crept over Naruto, an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. She was different from other girls, she had been completely rejected by other humans, she was probably asking him so many questions because he was probably the first person to not recoil in horror when they saw her. "I worried about my sister, she has just become a ninja." Naruto finally responded.

Fū looked at him and blushed. "It must be nice to have a sibling." She sighed. "I don't have any family at all. You're very lucky to have a sister."

"I am. Having a sibling helps you deal with a lot of stuff." Naruto replied.

However there was something else he wanted to ask her, something that he wasn't even comfortable talking about himself.

"Fū." He grabbed her attention. "Have you ever spoken to the demon inside you?"

Fū looked down, as if scared to answer. "I haven't. B-But I hear it's voice inside my head. It tells me to do terrible things." She was close to crying, subtly she moved closer to Naruto, trying to unconsciously seek comfort from him.

Unfortunately, it wasn't subtle enough. Naruto caught her movements and looked at her curiously. _'What's her angle?'_

**-Break-**

Mito, Sakura and Sasuke sat around the sleeping Kakashi, he had fainted a few minutes ago from exhaustion. Apparently he wasn't used to using the Sharingan.

"Is he all right?" Tazuna and his daughter Tsunami entered the room.

"He's fine. Just tired." Sakura responded.

"I am sorry, but as I told you before, we as a country couldn't afford anything hire than a C-Rank mission." Tazuna spoke saddened.

Sakura and Mito nodded in understanding.

"So who is this Gatō?" Mito asked, She saw that both of Tazuna's and Tsunami's brow furrowed at the name.

"He is an evil man. He owns the shipping industry around small countries, but that is just a cover for the other activities he commits, drug dealership, slavery and weapon's sales. He profits from all of it increasing his wealth and now believes that he owns all the Wave Country, we can't stop him however. This is no fairy tail where the poor defeat the rich. Money gives power." Tazuna explained.

"Gatō, he killed my husband, my son's father." Tsunami added, everyone eyes diverted to the ground.

"Don't worry, we'll stop him." Mito spoke. A short snort of laughter appeared behind Tazuna, a small boy stood there looking angrily.

"Good joke, you can't beat him, you're just gonna die." The boy spoke to Mito harshly.

"Inari!" Tsunami spoke, angry that her son was insulting their guests.

"What's your problem kid?" Mito asked him, irritated.

"Gatō will kill you. Just like he kills everyone else, the wave doesn't need a hero, heroes die!" The boy continued his harsh rant.

"That's bull! Heroes are recognised by others for what they are; heroes, the cowards who do nothing to stand up to them are worse than the evil ones. Gatō is a coward, you are worse than a coward!" Mito retaliated harshly, her brother was a hero, her father was a hero.

The boys eyes began welling up. "GO DIE! Either way it's gonna happen to you!" The boy cried as he ran out the room.

Mito, angered by the boy's words, jumped out the window and stormed off. Sakura looked at her walking away. "Sasuke-kun, could you watch Kakashi-sensei and Tazuna-san while I fetch Mito?"

Sasuke gave a short nod in agreement before Sakura jumped out of the same window and took after Mito.

**-Break-**

_'This place is depressing.'_ Teihaku thought as he walked through the streets of the small village in Nami no Kuni. Everywhere he looked everyone was miserable. What could have done this to cause an entire village to look so sullen.

"Please. Give it back." Teihaku heard an old, frail female voice beg. He turned and saw a crowd forming. He moved towards the the crowd and joined.

In the middle was an old woman, desperately trying to get a bag from one of two thugs, both with cynical grins plastered on their faces. Both men were small, the only intimidating feature was the swords strapped to their waists. He looked at the crowds, some of the men in the crowd should be able to handle these two thugs, but no one was helping her._ 'Why?'_

"Just give up old lady!" One of the thugs laughed. "You'll all be dead soon anyway, a demon shrouded in mist approaches, he'll destroy you all!"

_'A demon in the mist.'_ Teihaku thought. Zabuza. Finally a lead.

"That's enough." Teihaku entered the circle, gaining everyone's attention, all of the crowd looked at him like he was crazy for intervening. "Give her bag back." Teihaku spoke calmly, as least threateningly as possible.

Of course both of the thugs laughed at the statement. "Very funny kid, now why don't you run along and let the people who capture monsters play the hero!" One thug shouted.

Teihaku's gaze hardened, a small amount of killing intent leaked out of his body, even the small amount had stopped the thugs from laughing and now they looked worried.

"Give it back." Teihaku asked again.

The thugs began sweating, before the other thug shook it off. "You don't scare me kid. Are associates are strong, we need this tax money, to pay for them. Zabuza Momochi, do you recognise his name. He is partnered with us, if you kill us he will come after you!" The thug, drew his sword and charged towards Teihaku.

Teihaku bent his elbow, unlocking the hold that held his sword up his long sleeve. The sword fell out of his sleeve and Teihaku caught, all in time to block the thug's strike. Teihaku could tell that he was trying his hardest to push Teihaku back, but this man was so weak. "Your form is weak." Teihaku muttered. He pushed the thug's sword back and in one clean cut, sliced from the thug's neck down his chest. The thug grabbed the wound, trying to hold it closed, but soon collapsed to the floor dead. The crowd all gasped in horror.

The other thug, screamed and charged towards Teihaku, sword drawn in one hand, the bag of money in the other, The thug charged with his arms wide, a simple mistake. Like cutting through butter, Teihaku's cut through the man's arm, launching it upwards in the air. The thug screamed in pain, before fainting from shock.

Teihaku sheathed his sword back up his sleeve, before catching the falling arm. Plucking the bag from the hand, he dropped the arm. He felt the bag in his hand for a few moments, or rather felt what he could feel. The bag was almost empty. _'She would risk her life for such a small amount of money?' _Teihaku wondered at the old woman's motives. His eyes darted towards her and she stepped back, where was her spirit to reclaim her bag, where had her courage to stand up for herself gone. She hadn't even made an attempt to ask him for the bag back, was she really that frightened of him.

Teihaku sighed and threw the bag towards her, she stumbled to catch it, almost dropping it. He moved over to the unconscious thug, his wound was bleeding badly. Teihaku quickly tightened a small rope around his arm, stopping the circulation to it. He hoisted the man onto his shoulder and looked around at the crowd, all were to fearful to look him in the eye, but also to afraid to look away. Teihaku sighed again and disappeared in a gust of wind, he got what he came here for.

**-Break-**

Sakura caught up to Mito, she was staring at the forming crowd. "What's going on?" She asked between gasps for air.

"Let's find out." Mito spoke as she approached the crowd.

Mito and Sakura joined the crowd surrounding what was happening. Two men were harassing a poor old woman. They stole a small bag from her, she was desperately trying to get it back. Sakura looked around at the crowd, a group this big should be able to easily take down two thugs. But everyone looked afraid. They didn't seem to be going to do anything to help.

"Why is no one helping her?" Sakura asked quietly.

"I don't know, but we might, I can't let this happen." Mito responded bringing out a kunai.

"That's enough."

Mito and Sakura stopped in her tracks. Someone had entered the circle with the thugs and old woman. Both of the thugs turned to him.

He was very young, he couldn't be much older than Sakura and Mito. His spiky blood red hair fell around his face, cold, completive blue eyes could be seen. He was wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it, an interesting design. The cloak was open, showing an open torso, black shirt. A dark burnt orange cloak around his waist help up by a black rope. With black pants tied into bandages around his feet and shins.

Mito looked over to Sakura, who was blushing. Sakura looked over to Mito, and saw a very faint blush on her face as well. They watched the boy order the two thugs to stop this. The thugs laughed it off and threatened him with Zabuza Momochi, Sakura and Mito took a step back, if Kakashi-sensei almost lost against him, this boy wouldn't stand a chance.

They were in for a surprise. They watched the boy quickly draw a sword from his long sleeve and mercilessly strike down one of the thugs before cutting off the right arm of the other. The thug fainted from shock and the boy caught the falling severed arm from the air and took the bag from it, he held it for a few moments before throwing it back to the old woman. He picked up the bleeding man and disappeared in gust of wind.

The old woman appeared afraid but extremely grateful.

"Wow, that was scary." Sakura sighed out. "Why is it that the good looking ones are always scary or mysterious, there's Sasuke-kun, your brother and now that guy. What do you think, Mito?" Sakura asked, but Mito was not around her. "Mito?" Sakura called out.

**-Break-**

Mito ran around the area, looking for some sign of the red-haired boy. She didn't know why but she felt like she had to talk to him, that he and her were connected some how. She looked around and around but still she couldn't find him anywhere. She growled in defeat before turning away.

"Where is he?"

**-Break-**

Fū was mesmerised by the sheer size of Konoha's gates. They were nearly bigger than the whole of Takigakure. And they were still approaching them.

"Welcome to Konoha." Naruto spoke as they moved towards the gates. "Oh no." He droned.

"What?" Fū asked, confused at his sudden out burst.

Naruto pointed towards the gates, Fū followed his hand and at the gates was a girl dressed in bandages and purple clothing, with long hair which was a lighter blonde than Naruto's.

As they moved towards the gates she heard Naruto sigh again, as if he was preparing himself for the worst.

"Hello, Naruto-kun! Welcome home!" The blonde girl instantly pounced onto his neck, tightening her grip, unintentionally strangling.

Fū heard Naruto cough and gasp for air. "Get off him! You're hurting him!" Fū blushed and shouted to protect Naruto from the girl's death grip.

The blonde girl loosened her grip on Naruto, but didn't let go, she looked at Fū with a vicious glare.

"And who are you!" The blonde girl spat out venomously.

"I'm Fū." Fū spat out in an equally venomous tone. "And who are you?"

"I am Ino." The blonde girl, Ino returned. "And why may I ask is a Takigakure shinobi doing at Konohagakure?"

Naruto's eyes shifted from one girl to the other, listening to the banter they directed to one another, the venomous tone to their voice never dissipating. _'What's up with these two, do they have some bad history or something?'_ Naruto asked himself.

"Come on Naruto-kun let's go!" Ino screeched as she began dragging him out of his trail of thoughts and through the streets of Konoha. Fū quickly ran after them, trying to keep up with the power walking blond girl.

Naruto, back on his feet ripped his hand free from Ino's grip. He dusted himself off before realising where exactly he was, somewhere he hadn't been in a long time, in the centre of one of the streets of Konoha's market, everyone stopped in their day to day activities to look at him. Everything went deathly silent. Everyone stared at him wide eyed, no one dared to look away.

Fū caught up to Naruto and Ino at this moment, in time to join Naruto in the centre of the stares, however none were looking at her, they were all looking at him.

"N-Naruto-kun, is that you?" One slightly aged woman asked, genuinely shocked at what she was seeing.

"It is!" A older shinobi beamed. "It is Naruto-san! We haven't seen you in years. You're the spitting image of you're father!"

Much of the crowd broke out into smiles and laughs, before they began crowding around Naruto, who didn't look like he was enjoying any of this.

"Hey, Naruto how have you been!"

"Naruto, have you learned any super cool jutsu!"

"Whoa, Naruto you're so cool, can you teach me some jutsu, please!"

The crowd had completely bypassed Fuu and now she stood alone in the street. She heard the sound of giggling to her left and saw a group of girls around her age, some slightly older, crowded together blushing.

"Naruto-sama, looks so handsome."

"Plus he's so mysterious, we haven't seen him in so long."

"NARUTO-SAMA!"

was just some of the comments she heard, a frown appeared on Fū's face, although she had begun to wonder why she blushed at the mention of Naruto's name. She had barely known him longer than 4 days, could she really have fallen for him that fast.

Something else she began wondering, is that Naruto was just like her, a Jinchuuriki, so why was everyone hovering around him, how did he make it so everyone looked past his status. Would she ever experience that?

For the first time she met Ino she was thankful, the girl pulled Naruto out of the huge crowd and began running away with him, Fū followed them to a flower shop where they entered.

Fū entered the shop after them seeing Ino and Naruto conversing with a much older version of Ino.

"Hello can I help you?" The older Ino spoke with a smile.

"Ah sorry, I was just looking for Naruto, he is my escort in the village." Fū responded sweetly, moving towards Naruto, Ino frowned at the girl's movements. The older woman nodded and smiled, be for continuing.

"As I was saying, I haven't seen you since you were five Naruto, you were so cute back then, you were best friends with your sister and were already developing into a clone of your father." The older Ino spoke.

"Please stop, Meshibe-san." Naruto spoke, clearly not wanting this kind of attention.

"Oh, I see even the super mysterious, strong, Chunin level son of the Yondaime Hokage still gets embarrassed." The older Ino, Fū now learned was called Meshibe, giggled to herself, Fū could have sworn she saw the smallest tint of red grace Naruto's cheeks.

Naruto backed away from the woman and moved towards Fū. "Well as Fū said, I have to finish my mission of escorting her to the Hokage." Naruto grabbed Fū's hand (making her blush) and quickly darted out of the shop, making a sharp turn towards the Hokage's mansion.

**-Break-**

"I already know how to climb a tree." Sasuke spat out to his crutch bound sensei. He had been asleep for two days. And then he wakes up to give them useless training.

"Very well, perhaps a demonstration." Kakashi limped towards a tree, placing one foot on it, he began walking up the tree with just his feet. He stopped hanging upside down on a branch. He saw the impressed faces of Sasuke and Sakura and the uninterested face of Mito. "This helps improve chakra control, the soles of the feet are one of the hardest places to keep a steady continuous flow of chakra, too much and you break the bark, too little and you won't stick. Now you guy's try." Kakashi explained as he hobbled back down the tree.

All three ran up the tree, Sasuke was the first to fall, destroying the bark on the tree before landing back on his feet. Sakura ran up the tree easily and Mito walked slowly up. Mito reaching higher than Sakura, who stopped when she ran out of breath.

"Well, well, Sasuke, it seems you are the weakest link." Kakashi smiled. Sasuke growled in anger.

_'I hope this doesn't make Sasuke-kun hate me.'_ Sakura thought worriedly.

"Sensei, I already know this stuff." Mito whined.

Kakashi should have guess that. Even if Minato held Mito's academy application until she was seven, they wouldn't have held back her ninja training as well, they probably trained her while they were training Naruto to control the Kyuubi.

"Well then Mito, you can learn the water walking exercise, while Sakura you can do these exercises to boost your chakra capacity, because quite frankly, it stinks." Kakashi spoke, Sakura lowered her heard. "Sasuke, you carry on working on the tree climbing exercise until you reach the top of the tree." Kakashi nearly ordered, he knew Sasuke wouldn't agree to requests.

"Sensei. I already know the water walking exercise as well." Mito continued whining.

Kakashi scratched his chin. "Well then what to do with you then."

"Teach me elemental Ninjutsu!" Mito barked, jumping down from the tree. "Naru-nii has already learned it. How do people expect me to catch up to him if they always leave me one step behind of him!"

"Very well then, but you should know. Elemental Ninjutsu is a whole new level." Kakashi spoke as he limped to a quieter area, telling Sakura and Sasuke to continue with their training. Mito followed eagerly, they arrive in an open area.

"Here." Kakashi gave her a small square of paper.

"What's it for?" Mito looked at the paper puzzled.

"Send a small bit of chakra into the paper and it will tell you you're nature type." Kakashi explained.

"But I already know what nature type I'll have, either Lightening like dad, fire like mom or wind like Naru-nii." Mito spoke smugly.

Kakashi shook his head. "Nature type's are not hereditary." He quickly informed her. "Take Sandaime-sama and his son, Asuma. Sandaime-sama has fire and earth nature types, while Asuma has Wind and fire. Granted the fire type could indicate that it is hereditary, but from what I've seen it isn't. Now, when you pour chakra into the paper it will do one of five things, crinkle, crumble into dust, slice in half, become damp or burn away. In that order what they signify is what type you are, Lightening, Earth, Wind, Water or Fire respectively." Kakashi nodded towards, indicating that he was finished speaking and she could go ahead.

Mito placed her paper between the palms of her hands and pushed chakra hard, she felt the paper twitch and she opened her hands, the paper began crumbling away.

"So you're Earth natured, that's good, Earth is one of my better nature types to teach." Kakashi smiled.

Mito seemed quite saddened, because she was saddened. Her dad had the exiting Lightening nature, Naru-nii had the cool and cutting wind nature and her mom had the fiery nature, she was stuck with boring Earth.

"Now one of the first things you need to learn is to turn you're chakra to manipulate the Earth for your advantage." Kakashi began trying to cheer the girl up._ 'This is gonna be a long training session.'_

**-Break-**

"Mission accomplished dad." Naruto spoke as he entered his dad's office, surprised when he saw Jiraiya in there as well. "Hey Jiraiya." He waved.

The man grinned "What's up little blonde, haven't seen you in a while, see your doing fancy chunin mission now."

Fū slowly crept from behind Naruto to look at the two older men in the room, the first was the Yondaime Hokage, named as one of the most powerful shinobi on the planet. The next was Jiraiya of the Sannin, also named one of the most powerful shinobi alive, and Naruto spoke to both of them without fear.

"This is Fū." Naruto pointed to her, she jumped a bit.

"Welcome to the village Fū." Minato smiled at her, trying to put her at ease. She nodded slightly. "Well great job Naruto, mission accomplished." Minato shouted throwing the pay for the mission towards Naruto, who caught it. "And Fū, you may be in the village for some time until I can update the seal, being Hokage's a busy job you know. So I have set you up a nice little apartment for you to stay in, I trust you will be comfortable there." Minato smiled at her.

"While I wait, I would like to see the famous Konohagakure in detail, if you don't mind." Fū responded, her fear of the man gone.

Minato looked at her quizzingly, before smiling. "Why not, we will have someone act as a tour guide, in fact I know just the person, she's-"

"No!" Fū nearly shouted.

"Fū, a cannot allow a foreign shinobi permission to freely wander the Village, especially now during the Chunin exams."

The girl's forcefulness disappeared, replaced with timidness and a blush on her face to boot. "I would like Naruto-san to be my tour guide, he understands what I am, plus I'm not good with meeting new people." She stole a quick glance at the boy standing next to her, he seemed incredibly bored, looking around at every corner of the room. She was so preoccupied with him that she missed Jiraiya's and Minato's eyebrows lift.

"Well it's up to Naruto." Minato nearly snickered.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I have nothing better to do."

Minato smiled and handed him a scroll. "Here is the information of where Fū's apartment is."

"Thanks, let's go, Fū." Naruto spoke, already leaving the room. Fū quickly bowed to Minato before speeding out of the room after Naruto. Minato chuckled loudly when she closed the door.

"Astounding." Jiraiya whispered, writing down in his note book. Minato carried on chuckling and turned to his sensei.

"What's astounding sensei?"

"Your son." Jiraiya continued writing in his note book. "And how without even trying to get the girl, he STILL gets the girl."

**-Break-**

Zabuza's eyes opened quickly, he sat up in his bed. Next to him on a chair was Haku, he was sleeping peacefully. Zabuza looked at his neck, Haku had been healing him.

The boy began waking, he looked at Zabuza. "Z-Zabuza! Are you well?" He asked worried.

"I am fine Haku." Zabuza grasped his neck. "I was unprepared, that's all."

"What are we going to do now, Kakashi will know that you aren't dead." Haku asked.

"We will strike quick and hard, you will be accompanying me next time, you deal with the brats, I will deal with Kakashi." Zabuza spat out his name.

Zabuza looked over at Haku, who seemed a little worried. "Yes Haku, you may have to kill someone."

The boys eyes widened. He was simply to nice for his own good. Zabuza touched the boy on his head.

"You shouldn't have broke Gatō's arm." Zabuza chuckled.

**-Break-**

The thug began fidgeting in his bonds, he felt wet, his eyes fluttered open slightly. His mind began rebooting and told him to scratch his right arm. The man looked down to his right and instantly screamed, he didn't have his right arm. His crying mixed into his screaming when the pain receptors began working again.

He looked up in the dark, single candle light room and saw a pair of feet leaning comfortably against the wall.

"You there!" He cried out. "Help me please!"

The feet stepped forward and the thug looked at the other person's face. He instantly recognised it, the boy who killed his partner. His crying stopped and was replaced with a growl of fury, he began struggling to free himself from his bonds.

"Where is Zabuza Momochi?" The boy asked calmly.

"Go fuck yourself!" The thug yelled back at him.

The boy sighed and shook his head. He picked up the candle and moved towards him. "Do you feel wet?" The boy spoke as he crouched down in front of him. "That's because you are. I covered your entire body with oil. Just in case you were unwilling to help me."

The thug's eyes widened as he tried to move away. "Get that thing away from me!" He looked fearfully at the candle. Burning to death was never a quick way to go.

"Where is Zabuza Momochi!" The boy shouted at him now.

"T-There's a headquarters in the wood, you can't miss it if you look for it. B-But you can find him easier if you stay in the Wave country where they are building the huge bridge, that is his target for Gatō." The thug sang like a canary, Zabuza or Gatō weren't important enough to him to die for.

The boy moved the candle away from him and smirked. "Thank you." He stood up and walked away.

"N-Now release me!" The thug shouted hopefully. "I helped you now you help me, release me!"

The boy looked at him from over his shoulder. "Very well, I will release you."

The thug smiled widely and laughed, tears welling in his eyes. The boy smiled back.

And threw the candle towards him. The flame touched his body and he burst into flames.

**-Break-**

Teihaku closed the door behind him, muffling the screams of agony from the thug. He began walking out of the makeshift room in the cave by the sea.

"So in order to get Zabuza I must stay near Tazuna." Teihaku smiled at this new information, his mission was one step closer to completion.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 10 done, and comparing it to chapter 9, kind of a let down, I'll admit it, well that's because I don't really like the wave arc, don't get me wrong Zabuza and Haku were awesome, it's just that compared to the Chunin exam arc, it kinda sucked. There are a few things I would like to go over now that we are at the 10 mile mark.**

**The character's personalities. I'll admit I am not good at writing personalities yet, I'm still fairly new, but that is no excuse. Each character has their own personality quirks that I would like to address.**

**Naruto has secluded himself for a loong time, therefore he has not developed socially, he understands aggression and sadness because they are easy to identify, but when it comes to crushes or childish behaviour he doesn't understand, therefore acts a bit stupid, this story is mainly about the ties we have to relatives, but it will also be about developing into a society. Naruto has improved physically and mentally much more than socially.**

**Mito unlike her brother has had everything handed to her, she doesn't have that constant feel of everyone looking over her shoulder in case she releases the Kyuubi, so unlike she would believe she is the more favoured one to the public. So unknownglingly she has developed a bossy and demanding attitude, but still knows humility because her brother is better than her in many aspects.**

**Teihaku barely understands anything about society because he doesn't have the past experiences to learn from, he is a completely blank slate, he follows orders because he believes that that is the right thing to do, he has alligned himself with Akatsuki because of their power, and in society the ones with power are the ones who make decisions. (e.g. our self appointed governments.) However, his natural instincts will be displayed next chapter, which will hopefully be the end of the Wave arc.**

**In case anyone is wondering why I gave Mito earth Nature, it was supposed to be symbolic to each of their shown personalities.**

**Mito is more level-headed, she is calm, collected and the most balanced, however she does have sudden changes in her personality (imagine walking along a sturdy path then landing in front of a cliff edge).**

**Naruto is like the wind, he is calm, he is cool, but he can still be deadly and violent.**

**Teihaku is like Lightening. He is unpredictable, he is savage and he is gone within the blink of an eye.**

**Okay, I think I'll take a short break until posting chapter eleven, hopefully on the 6th of december, give or take a few days. Next chapter will be battle of the bridge. and the return home, probably won't see much of Naruto next chapter. However their will be a more closer interaction between Mito and Teihaku so stick around.**

**Rinne-kami saying, review please.**

**P.S. I have drawn a headshot of Teihaku and posted it on Deviantart, I'll add the link to my profile, so check it out to get a better idea of what Teihaku looks like (I don't have a scanner so I had to take a picture of it, don't worry it's not bad quality.)**

**P.S.S Unfortunately Zabuza will have to die next chapter, but what about Haku, I haven't got any further ideas for him in the story, but it seems wrong to kill him off as well. So I will leave it up to you guys with a poll; Should I kill off Haku. Please vote now.**


	11. Chapter 8: Hair Dyed Red With Blood

A/N: YO! Wow, I'm really bad at keeping deadlines aren't I? I know I said that I wasn't gonna update to about the 6th, but I really want to get a start on the Chunin exams soon. So as promised, the wave arc ends here, I've doind a lot of skimming through peoples fics and I haven't come across a twist like the one I'm usiing for Haku's fate yet. A very emotional chapter all in all, and has definately become one of my favourites. It's also 10021 words long! The longest so far. The notes for it were about 2000 words long itself. Well enough rambling.

Disclaimer: This diclaimer proves that Rinne-Kami does not own Naruto in any shape or form, only Teihaku and Mito. This disclaimer is valid for 10 chapters, so there for he no longer has to write a disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter.

"Speak"

_'Thought'_

_"Flashback"_

_**Jutsu**_

* * *

"Oh, good everyone's here." Kakashi smiled as he limped into the room, glad that he didn't have to rely on crutches anymore. "Sasuke, Sakura get ready we're going with Tazuna to the bridge today, to act as his bodyguards."

"Why?" Sakura was quick to respond.

"Because Zabuza isn't dead. I believe that he will attack today." Kakashi told them, their eyes widening.

"That's impossible, we watched that hunter-nin throw Senbon into the vital point on his neck." Mito rebutted, Zabuza was dead, he had to be.

"Yes the guy did kill Zabuza, are only brought a temporary death like state onto him by hitting him with the senbon. Remember I was in ANBU, I've worked with Hunter-nin before, when they kill their target they don't move the body at all. They instantly rip it apart and burn the body. To avoid any secrets that the body may hold being leaked. Leaving only the head as proof that the defector has been eliminated." Kakashi explained.

"So that guy. He wasn't an ANBU." Sasuke put the pieces together.

"Precisely, but he has been trained like one, most likely through Zabuza, him being an ANBU himself after all." Kakashi concluded, there was no doubts in his mind that Zabuza was still alive.

"Then what am I gonna do?" Mito asked.

"You are going to stay here and guard Tsunami and Inari." Kakashi ordered his sensei's daughter.

Mito only nodded, despite how strong and brave she made herself out to be, she was far from it. She would much rather prefer not to have to come face to face with that demon again.

But was she letting her family down by thinking such things?

**-Break-**

Teihaku gently pushed his sword through the giant wooden box, creating another air hole. In the dead of night he had snuck into to one of these boxes, to remain near the bridge builder at all times today. Hiding within this box, he could ready himself should Zabuza attack today.

He peered through one of the air holes. The other bridge builders had gathered into a collective circle. Questions as to why they had stopped were thrown into the air. One bridge builder stood on top of a box to address the rest.

"Fellow builders. Gatō and his thugs will definitely becoming today. So we must ask ourselves. Is it worth it to continue the bridge, after all if we carry on building Gatō will kill us all. There is no way that we could finish it today. So ask yourselves, is Tazuna worth dying for?" The man on the box yelled out in protest. His shout was responded by yells of "Hell no!" For many different voices.

Teihaku sat in his box watching the rally. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to get more comfortable, he didn't know how long he would be stuck in here. "Leave I don't care." He whispered softly. Deciding to get a little sleep. "Just means that there are less people between me and my target."

**-Break-**

Mito sat in an awkward silence with Tsunami and Inari, Inari glaring at her horribly. Tsunami unsure at what to say to lighten the mood.

"Don't worry Tsunami-san. Kakashi-sensei will protect Tazuna-san." Mito tried to reassure her. Inari's humph attracted the attention of everyone in the room.

"My grandfather's as good as dead." He said coldly, shocking his mother and the house guest. "He's trying to be a hero for this village, like my father was. Gatō kills heroes. He killed my father." It looked like it hurt the boy to say this.

"Your grandfather's not gonna die. Stop saying stuff like that." Mito just replied quietly, she wasn't having this argument again.

"Why do you care what I say? Why do you care about my grandfather? Why do you care about this village? Why do you even care about heroes!" Inari's voice rose with every question he threw at her.

Mito sat quietly for a few moments, letting Inari glare at her. "Because. My father is a hero." She saw Inari seem to take a step back. "And not only that, so is my brother. They are both heroes. I can't stay weak, I have to be a hero as well. So I don't let them down." She looked up to Inari, who seemed close to crying.

"Just like you. You should be strong for your father's memory. You should be a hero like him."

Those were all the word's the small boy could take. Tears weld up in his eyes as he ran out of the kitchen door onto the docks surrounding his house.

Mito looked at the saddened Tsunami. "Sorry." She muttered to the mother.

Inari screams of terror filled the air. Both Mito and Tsunami sprinted outside. There on the docks were two gruff looking men, one with Inari wrapped in one of his arms.

"What are you doing?" Tsunami shouted in horror at the two men.

"Just collecting some leverage against Tazuna for Gatō." One man smiled sinisterly, tightening his grip on Inari.

"Then take me. If any harm comes to him, I'll bite off my tongue and drown on my blood!" Tsunami threatened, she lost all her zeal when the two men began laughing mockingly.

"Go ahead! We got what we came for, we've heard that Tazuna loves his grandson a great deal!" The other thug spoke, pointing his sword towards Inari.

Mito looked at the situation, strategising, she needed to get Inari away from them two, but if she made a move, if would take less time for them to kill Inari than for her to reach him. She needed an idea and quick.

Luckily at that time Inari made a break for it. Biting down hard on the man's hand, making him relinquish his grip on him. Inari ran past both men before they had a chance to react, straight into the arms of his mother.

Mito smiled. The men still confused over the events that just happened left themselves wide open. She sped towards them, the two men unable to keep up with her. A few fast punches to the heads and both men were down for the count.

_'Was that it?'_ Mito looked at both the men unimpressed. She drew a kunai from her pouch. She knew what she had to do. Her breath hitched in her throat. These guys were going to kill Tsunami and Inari. If she didn't kill them now, they could wake back up and finish the job.

But why couldn't she do it? She tried to move towards them but her body froze, why was her body so against killing them. Zabuza spoke the truth, she lived in a kill or be killed world. Nearly everyone she had ever met had already killed before. She sighed in defeat and put away the kunai. Perhaps she just wasn't ready yet. She lived in a time of peace, when killing wasn't necessary during every battle. Perhaps it could stay that way.

However her attention then turned to the bridge.

"Now I'm worried about Tazuna-san." Mito spoke.

"Then go." Tsunami told her. "Go to your sensei and your teammates, we'll be fine here."

Mito nodded, smiling she took off towards the bridge.

**-Break-**

"What do you mean your giving up?" Tazuna shouted in anger and confusion.

"Gatō is coming to the bridge with his goons, if we are there when he arrives he will kill us all. It's safer to just give up." The builder said, he recently rallying the other builders to give up building this bridge. "I'm sorry Tazuna, but we're leaving."

With that he and the other builder began departing from the bridge. Going back to their homes. Tazuna growled in anger at their actions.

"How can you do that! Tazuna shouted in a fury. "How can you embrace such ideals! Hoe can you choose a life of poverty when the path to prosperity lies right in front of you!"

The builder didn't turn around, only stopping in his movements. "We may have a life of poverty...but we will live." The builder carried on with the rest of the group leaving Tazuna alone on his bridge with Team 7.

Tazuna growled again. "Well I'm still here aren't I! I'll finish this bridge alone if I have to!"

He stormed off, collecting supplies before moving towards the edge of the bridge, beginning construction single-handedly.

**-Break-**

"And this is the Konoha shinobi memorial." Naruto pointed to the perfectly sculpted rock, set on a marble patio.

Fū stared at the marvellous rock. She gently brushed her fingers against it's smooth surface. "Beautiful."

"It's for all the shinobi who were named KIA, when their bodies couldn't be brought back." Naruto continued. Fū noticed the sadness in his voice, sure enough, when she turned to look at him, his face was filled with sadness.

"Is, there someone you know on this stone?" She asked, she didn't mean to impose. But he looked like he needed to get something off his chest.

He looked at her dead in the eye. "No. I don't. That's what's the problem. Someone I know should be on the stone. They can't find his body, yet they still do not put his name on this list. I've walked this cemetery one thousand times. But I can never find his name on a head stone." He confessed. Inwardly he was questioning himself. Why was he telling her all this? Why had he opened up to her so?

"Then perhaps he is still alive." Fū spoke softly, trying to cheer up the boy. His head rose slowly. She was caught in his gaze, his deep oceanic blue eyes glistening with a watery texture, a single tear drop left his eye. Naruto's breath was hitched, as if he was trying to contain the rest of the tears.

"Then why hasn't he come home?"

**-Break-**

"So my suspicions were correct. You are still alive." Kakashi faced Zabuza, next to him stood the Hunter-nin from a few days ago, the one that 'killed' Zabuza. Kakashi stood in front of Sakura, who stood in front of Tazuna, Sasuke at Kakashi's side.

"That I am." Zabuza began. "And I have Haku to thank for it." Zabuza gestured his hand towards the short boy next to him, apparently called Haku. "And now I can return the favour you almost gave me. Killing you."

Kakashi drew a kunai and revealed his _**Sharingan**_ eye. "Sasuke, I need you to take care of Zabuza's accomplice Haku."

"Why don't you just get Mito to do it." Sasuke snorted rudely. Annoyed that Mito received much more training than he did over the past few days.

"Well she's not here is she." Kakashi smiled down at him, completely missing the emotion in Sasuke's voice. "Besides, you can handle that guy easily." Sasuke seemed to smirk at this. _'A natural ego-maniac.'_

Zabuza only chuckled. "I don't care if he is an Uchiha or not. Haku is stronger. Haku has become even more dangerous than myself. You've seen what he can do. His speed is unrivalled. And your Uchiha's not the only one with a fancy technique."

Haku quickly followed up on Zabuza's gloating, Kakashi went slightly wide eyed at the boy's speed, he was indeed fast, he moved from across the bridge in the blink of an eye.

Sasuke moved to parry Haku's senbon with a kunai. Counteracting it, both wielders struggles against each other to gain the upperhand.

"You do have speed." Haku spoke quietly.

"Sasuke-kun's so cool!" Sakura squealed in delight at Sasuke's heroic actions.

"Yes Sasuke, this is impressive." Kakashi looked at Sasuke blocking his opponents senbon.

"I completed your stupid tree-walking exercise within a few hours after you left. Without anything to do I moved onto something else, something I found much more difficult. To use chakra to walk on water's surface." Sasuke explained with a grunt, pushing against Haku's senbon.

"Impressive Sasuke, you figured out the second stage of chakra control training by yourself." Kakashi commended him.

"Yeah and I finished that by the end of the day as well." Sasuke smirked. "So I had all that free time to develop core skills like strength and speed while you were off training Mito!" Sasuke finished with his voice raising a little bit. Speed and strength, two things that Mito's brother Naruto showed him he had very little of.

"Well why didn't you come and train with Mito?" Kakashi continued the conversation as if Sasuke wasn't fighting for his life.

"Because, Naruto showed me I had no speed or strength, I needed to improve them first!"

"Naruto." Zabuza called, gaining all their attentions. "Even I have heard of this Naruto. Chunin at age five. Dodging both the ranks of academy student and Genin. Very much like myself. You kiddies could learn something from that Naruto. He has earned the right to call himself a ninja, something that you haven't. Haku stop playing and finish him off."

"Sasuke. It appears you on the losing end of a stalemate. I currently have one of your arms occupied, therefore you have lost your ability to perform Ninjutsu, should you attempt to move to attack with a Ninjutsu you will leave yourself open for an attack." Haku calmly reminded him.

"And I could say the same for you. I too have one of your arms occupied." Sasuke smirked with his retaliation.

"That is true. But..." Haku's hand stiffened upright, into half of the ram seal. "I don't need both my hands to perform Ninjutsu." Haku began rushing through a series of unknown to Sasuke, hand seals.

"Hand seals with only one hand!" Kakashi's eyes widened further, he had never heard of such a thing.

Haku stomped onto the bridge. "_**Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!**_" The water rose from the puddles surrounding them, thinning into needles. The flew fast at Sasuke, he pushed Haku forwards and then with a series of backwards acrobatics escaped any injury from the jutsu. However, no he was alone, isolated from Kakashi and Sakura.

"I'll leave him to you Haku." Zabuza sounding like he ws giving an order, not a request.

"Yes, Zabuza-san." Haku replied, before running straight past Kakashi and towards Sasuke.

"Why did you let him past sensei!" Sakura screeched to the man.

"Sasuke can take care of himself. Besides, Zabuza is a more crucial problem. Sakura guard Tazuna at all times." Kakashi gave his own orders.

Zabuza only chuckled, his thick mist rolling in. "That Uchiha is going to die, and so are the rest of you."

The mist engulfed the bridge. Kakashi smelled the air, looking for Zabuza's scent. The sword of the sword cutting through the air made itself known. Kakashi jumped out of the attacks way. And again. And again. Zabuza had Kakashi pinned against a wall in this mist.

"Even in the mist you dodge my attacks." Zabuza's voice rung out again. "But your moves, they are sloppy. Have you not fully recovered yet. Well try to avoid this next attack."

Kakashi waited for the attack. But nothing happened.

"The bridge builder!"

**-Break-**

_'What's happening to Sasuke-kun!'_ Sakura whined inside her own mind. Completely unaware of the danger she was in.

Zabuza appeared in front of them, a grin plastered through the white bandages on his face.

Kakashi appeared as Zabuza's sword came down. Blood splashed onto the ground, Kakashi's blood, a cut went across his torso, it continued bleeding heavily.

"Now you've lost Kakashi, you can't keep up with me with all that blood flowing out of your system now." Zabuza retreated back into the mist, which began thinning, perhaps Zabuza was becoming overconfident, like he didn't need the mist.

But Kakashi knew Zabuza was right, he wasn't at full strength. And this cut was already messing with his head. Telling him to fall asleep, so it could heal the body more quickly.

Kakashi couldn't fight this instinct much longer, he collapsed to the floor. All the injuries adding up. He passed out, his last thought would be shame for not being able to protect his team.

**-Break-**

_'That's an awfully large amount of ruckus.'_ Teihaku thought as he awoken from his snooze. He peeped through the air hole again. To see a large sword flailing around madly.

_'So Zabuza finally turned up, and I almost missed him.'_ Teihaku looked over to see why Zabuza was swing his sword, he was in a fight with a man with gravity defying grey hair, with a mask covering half his face. Barely in the distance he could see a pink-haired girl, she looked stiff and on edge, but he couldn't see why, the mist rolling in was getting to think. He looked back at the man fighting Zabuza.

_'Kakashi Hatake.'_ Teihaku recognised him instantly. _'Problematic. He could interfere with my mission.'_

At that moment Teihaku decided to just watch the fight. Maybe Kakashi could wear Zabuza out. _'I'll wait for Kakashi to die, then strike, or maybe Kakashi will do my job for me.'_ Teihaku smiled at this, although he would like to battle Zabuza.

And it looked like he still might. Kakashi's moves were sloppy, they were slow, like he wasn't at full strength. Zabuza carved a long gash across Kakashi's chest, blood leaked from it. Kakashi's moves were slower until he eventually passed out. Zabuza moved towards Kakashi. _'This is my chance.'_

Teihaku exploded out of the box, everyone conscious that could look at him could. Zabuza stopped moving himself, the mist began clearing, as if too let everyone get a better look at him. The pink-haired girl stared at him weirdly, like she had met him before.

_'It's that guy from before!'_ Sakura thought inwardly, she remembered him from that day when he attacked those two guys. What had he done with the one he left with?

"Zabuza Momochi. I'm here to kill you." Teihaku stated his purpose calmly. For once someone didn't laugh at the statement.

"Oh really. And what have I done to deserve it?" Zabuza rose his eyebrow, he squinted his eyes to get a better look at his wannabe assassin. But there was something familiar about this kid. That red-hair, he knew that he had seen it before, but just couldn't remember where. He thought hard, and remembered one of his men from within Kiri, who kept him up to date with the village's maintenance and such, describing the spiky red-hair.

"I know you." Zabuza finally remembered who he was talking to. "You're the Yondaime Mizukage's assassin. Oho, finally I meet the person that took that honour away from me, you know you just might be able to kill me after all." Zabuza laughed his fear off.

Sakura and Tazuna looked at the young boy in horror and shock, he couldn't be any older than 18. _'This is the guy that killed the Mizukage._' Sakura began panicking, what if he turned on them when he was done with Zabuza. With Kakashi unconscious they would have no way to survive him.

Teihaku looked unfazed by the man's confirmation of his identity. "You know too much information Zabuza. My orders are to eliminate you." The boy's eyebrows furrowed. Daring Zabuza to make a move.

Zabuza moved towards Teihaku, swinging his massive sword downwards, a simple side step and Teihaku was out of the way, Zabuza followed with a Horizontal slash, Teihaku leant backwards to duck under it. With one sharp kick Zabuza was sent away from him, enabling him to stand up proper again.

Zabuza growled as he wiped the blood from his mouth. The boy was toying with him, and they both knew it.

Giving a loud war cry Zabuza charged towards the red-haired kid. He was gonna tear this kid apart no matter what!

**-Break-**

Sasuke's eyes darted around the ice cage, each one of the panels reflecting an image of Haku. But which was the real one?

Needles shot at him in every direction, using all of his agility, Sasuke managed to dodge the majority of them, some still hitting his body. They hurt.

_'There's got to be a flaw to this technique.'_ Sasuke activated his _**Sharingan**_, his eyes darting at every individual mirror surrounding him.

_'That one!'_ The third from the right, second row. It had a slightly higher influx of chakra. To a pair of normal eyes it would no different, but Sasuke's eyes weren't normal. _'You're hiding in that one.'_

Speeding through hand seals, Sasuke launched a _**Fire Release: Great Fireball**_ Jutsu at the mirror. Haku sprung out of the mirror and quickly into another.

"I told you earlier, fire will not melt this ice." Haku's voice resounded as his figure was multiplied over the mirrors.

"That may be. So why did you move?" Sasuke smirked triumphantly. "If your ice can't melt, why would you dodge my attack if you were safe within the ice. It may not melt, but the heat is still unbearable for you isn't it?" Sasuke quickly launched another fireball at the mirror Haku now resided in. Once again, Haku dodged the fireball and moved into another mirror. However, the bottom of his attire was singed by the fire during his jump to avoid the attack.

'His clothing singed!' Sasuke's eyes went wide. _'He's slowing down. This technique must take a lot of chakra to maintain, he's most likely been able to finish off his opponents before he tired.'_

Sasuke smirked in victory, everything played in his favour. "This has become a battle of stamina, of perseverance. The longer this jutsu lasts, the slower you get. I just have to get you slow enough to engulf you in flames. And with my eyes, I can keep a constant track of your location within this house of mirrors, plus my control over the _**Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique**_ is absolute, they cost me less chakra than for you to maintain your technique. You lose!"

He received no response from Haku. He didn't seem to be affected by anything he said.

"It wasn't wise..." Haku's voice began. "...to gloat and explain your plan of action. I have been toying with you to test your potential. Now I will opt to end this quickly."

Sasuke's eyes darted to every mirror once again. Haku's presence was visible in every mirror. But none held a slightly larger amount of chakra. The many Haku's prepared Senbon. Sasuke took the initiative, preparing to dodge.

A line of sharp pains hit his back. His hand shakingly touched what had inflicted the pains. A line of Senbon ran down his spine. More sharp pains hit his neck, followed by piercing pains all over his body. He was getting sleepy, his body collapsed to the floor. His eyes stayed barely open, a foot landed in front of his face, he looked up to see Haku standing over him.

"I did not enter a mirror that time. I merely stood behind one and lowered it's transparency so my reflection could pass through it and reflect onto the other mirrors. Had you not explained yourself moments ago, I would have never thought of that. You sealed your own fate with over-confidence and overestimating your own abilities. I'm sorry." Haku spoke what Sasuke thought would be the last words he'd hear.

His mind was telling him to go to sleep and rest, but his body told him he was in unimaginable pain. Was this dying? _'Am I dying?'_ Sasuke tiredly asked himself. _'Are these my final moments?'_

He didn't want to die, he expected no one did. But he was young, he still had so much left to do.

_'Itachi. I still have to kill you.'_ But Sasuke hadn't seen him since the night of the monstrous atrocity he committed. He needed to kill Itachi. To relieve himself of everything that happened that night. To purify his family name, to free it from the reputation of being annihilated by one of their own.

_'But would I be able to kill you, nii-san?'_ Sasuke asked his brother in his mind. It was two questions he was asking himself. At Sasuke's age now, Itachi was annihilating their clan, Sasuke had only just made Genin. Would he have actually gained the strength and skill to kill him? Even if he did gain all the strength and power in the world. Would he have been able to kill his own brother? Could he really have been able to discard all the past love he had felt for him and strike him down? Everytime he had thought about Itachi, it wasn't his murderous glare or the blood of his clan members blotted across his face that he thought of first. It was his kind smile, his protectiveness that came first. And it angered him, why couldn't he kill off his emotions as Itachi did? Why couldn't he understand and manipulate his own emotions to imitate them completely and fool everyone? Rage, Anger, Sorrow, Shame, Guilt. He felt them all daily. Guilt had become the most prominent in his last few moments.

_'I never visited you after that night, Mother, Father.'_ His confession that only he would hear. After their murder, he could not bring himself to face their graves. Not out of the fact that their lives were taken by the very same person they gave life to. But out of shame, out of guilt. Ashamed that he had not been able to protect them. Guilty that he quivered and cried in the face of their murderer. And now the guilt returned, guilty that he had not even spoke to them again, to tell them that at least one of their sons still loved them.

_'And. I broke my promise to you, kaa-san, nii-san.' _His final confession, he remembered when he was young, he had promised both of them that he would make friends, or at least one genuine friend. One that was worth more to him than his own life. But it was hard, jealousy kept the boys away from him, jealous of his high ninja prowess, fear kept older members of the public away from him. Asking themselves how Sasuke survived when his father, head of the Uchiha clan fell to Itachi. The only people who approached him were the girls of his age. But they never wanted to know him, they only wanted to be with him. These were goals he had set himself in the end of his life. To find Itachi. To visit his parents. To make one genuine friend, one that was worth even more to him than the _**Mangekyo Sharingan**_.

"_I knew Itachi, he was never the type to attack mindlessly. As his brother you should of realised that as well, try to learn why Itachi did what he did. But to understand you must first forgive."_

"_Do not attempt to understand me or my pain."_

He remembered those words of the blonde haired boy. _'Naruto.'_ Sasuke tried to speak to him telepathically. _'We had only spoke that one time. But when we met. I felt, connected. Like you understood everything about me. Like you weren't looking at me as Sasuke Uchiha, the last Uchiha, you were looking me like a normal person, as someone who was hurting, who needed to be healed, I could tell you felt the same way, you were hurting inside as well. We are both alone in this world aren't we? We were both born with everything, but neither of us really have anything, do we?' _What appeared to be the only working muscle left in his body twitched, leaving a smile on the edge of his mouth, a tear rolled down his face. _'Naruto... I feel...'_

Sasuke's vision went dull, black. His mind and body fell asleep. This was it.

_'like you could have become that friend...'_

**-Break-**

Mito ran down the bridge, there was something ahead of her, like a hall of ice. She ran towards it, there were openings everywhere, she entered it, not really thinking of the dangers that could lurk within.

What was inside was something she was never prepared for.

Sasuke's body lay motionless on the floor, needles poking through his skin everywhere, standing over him was the hunter-nin Kakashi had warned them about. She ignored him and shifted towards Sasuke's body, kneeling on the ground next to him, her hand touched his face. Her breath stopped. His skin was cold, his eyes, half opened, stared dully into the horizon, equipped with the mark of a tear drop falling down his face. But he had the faintest of smiles. Why was he smiling when he died, how could he have looked at the end of his life and thought pleasant thoughts. Tears left her eyes, sure Sasuke was the best of friends, but her was still a friend.

"I'm sorry. I did what I must." The masked ninja said above her. She could her that he was sad. And it infuriated her.

If he was so sad, why did he kill Sasuke. If he was going to apologise then why didn't he just spare Sasuke's life. Mito growled with anger. She exploded from her kneeling position, giving the masked-nin no time to react, her fist smashing against the masked-nin's face, his mask began crumbling away, yet Mito didn't stop her assault. She attacked him in a frenzy before delivering a hard kick to the boy's chest, sending him backwards, crashing into one of the mirrors, that when the boy fell into unconsciousness, disappeared with the rest.

Mito looked at the boy, he was young, he couldn't be much older than her. He was a killer, yet his face seemed serene, peaceful, innocent. Mito turned to look at Sasuke's body again. She needed to move on, but she didn't want to leave him alone.

"Sakura." She whispered to herself. Getting Sakura over to him might not be the best options considering her feelings for him, but she couldn't leave him alone laying on the floor.

Mito pressed forwards arriving at Sakura's and Tazuna's location. She found Kakashi laying near them, a small pool of blood around him. '_Kakashi-sensei as well?_' Mito thought. She looked up there was Zabuza fighting someone else familiar to her. _'Him! Why is he here!' _She watched the red-haired boy battle with Zabuza.

"Sakura, you need to get away from here. Go that way with Tazuna-san. Sasuke's there waiting." Mito spoke with a shaky voice. Sakura smiled at Sasuke's name and nearly skipped up there with Tazuna.

Mito waited...And there it was. Sakura's screams of sorrow filled the air. Zabuza and red-hair both stopped fighting to look in the direction of her screams.

Zabuza chuckled once. "The girl is only beginning to learn the dirty secrets of the glamorous life we call being a ninja." He remarked.

"Zabuza." The red-haired boy gained his attention. "Her screams will be the last thing you shall here."

"That may be. You've been toying with me this entire time, haven't you?" Zabuza replied. "So if you're going to kill me, I figure I should take a legend with me."

"Are you really going to attack an unconscious man." The red-haired boy spoke of Kakashi.

Zabuza only chuckled. "I never said Kakashi."

Mito froze when Zabuza moved in her direction, he meant her. Her body froze when faced with death. She allowed Zabuza to move towards her, she didn't move when Zabuza heaved his massive sword upwards. She clamped her eyes shut and went stiff. Unable to look at death coming to take her.

She knew he'd come save her, she just knew it. She knew that Naruto would appear out of nowhere and take down Zabuza, she didn't need to move, Naruto would be here.

But he wasn't there, and Zabuza's sword began moving downwards. She did the only action she could think of. She screamed loudly, so by some off chance he could hear her.

"NII-SAN!"

**-Break-**

Teihaku watched Zabuza make a run towards the blonde girl. Teihaku smirked. Zabuza's arrogance had just cost him his life. While he was preoccupied with cutting the girl up, he would leave himself open for Teihaku to complete his mission.

Teihaku waited for just the right moment. The girl closed her yes not wanting to see death take her. _'Poor kid.'_

"NII-SAN!"

The girl's screams of fear echoed over the bridge. Shouldn't children scream for their parents when their scared, not their siblings?

_'But why?'_

Teihaku asked himself, his body not responding to his mind had begun moving to the girl's location. It began acting completely on it's own.

He moved between Zabuza and the girl, Zabuza not stopping the momentum of his downward thrust of his large sword, because Teihaku stood in the way.

_'Why?'_

With one well timed thrust, Teihaku pushed the large sword to the left to avoid being perfectly bisected vertically. However he was not fast enough. His left eye clenched in pain as the sword cut through bone, blood began dribbling out his mouth.

_'Why do I feel inclined to protect her?'_

Teihaku asked himself, he had no connections to the girl, yet he still took the full brunt of the attack for her. He looked over his should, or what was left of it to look at the girl, her eyes were still clamped shut, he smiled slightly and turned back to Zabuza's shocked form.

She was completely safe from harm.

**-Break-**

Mito heard the excruciating sound of metal hitting flesh, she smelled the disgusting stench of blood reek through the air. She felt the warm drops of blood splash onto her face. Yet she felt no pain. Had she just gone into so much shock that she lost the ability to feel pain? She opened her tightly shut eyes to gaze at what happened.

That boy, the spiky red-haired boy stood in front of her, directing Zabuza's sword out of her path, but at a deathly cost too himself.

His entire left shoulder was gone, his arm lay on the floor, twitching, as if trying to move it's back to the rest of the body. The sword had cut diagonally. A soft oddly coloured centre was seen surrounded by ribs and half a shoulder blade. Zabuza had cut part of the boy's lung away with his arm. She looked back at the boy, he was holding himself weakly, yet still stood defiantly between her and Zabuza.

"Why?" She whispered out, her voice weak. "Why did you save me?"

The boy coughed, blood splattered in front of him. His voice was raspy and weak. "I don't know why, it just felt like something I had to do." He looked over the mutilated shoulder, a small smile present on his lips. His eyes closed tight in pain.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SMILING!" Mito shouted at him, tears of rage welling in her eyes. "THIS ISN'T SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO YOURSELF! TO SAVE ME! I DON'T DESERVE THAT! NOBODY DOES! YET YOU STAND THERE WITH A STUPID SMILE ON YOUR FACE! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO SAVE ME!"

The boy continued to smile weakly at her. "I told you I don't know why. But what I do know is. I will survive this." He began coughing hoarsely again. Mito would be surprised if he didn't literally start coughing up a lung.

She looked at him like he was crazy, he was gonna survive this? This wasn't a small scrap or a deep cut. His entire shoulder was removed a piece of one of his major organs went with it. How the hell could anyone survive this!

Zabuza had a similar thought, but expressed it in a different way. He laughed loud. "You're gonna survive this! Now that's a new one! Tell you what kid, if you can survive this, I'll repent everything I've done in my life and go to heaven!" Zabuza laughed maniacally.

The red-haired boy looked at Zabuza and smiled. "Then I hope you sing like an angel." Was the only thing he said.

Mito watched the boy's fast beating chest stop, his head drop, his remaining arm fell to his side limp, he died. Mito felt like hitting the deceased body, for the briefest of moments she believed him when he said he would survive, and he gave up in an instant. A heavy frown appeared on her brow, but the tears didn't stop.

"Is this your first time experiencing death, girl." Zabuza had stopped laughing, the boy had been a worthy opponent, he deserved some respect. "Get used to it, you're gonna see a lot of friends die over the coming years. Wait, no you won't, because you're dead next."

Zabuza took a step back in horror when the boy's head shot upwards, his eyes had rolled back into his skull, a deep raspy moan escaped his throat. Suddenly and spontaneously the boy's body engulfed in flames. Mito watched, the boy didn't look like he was in pain anymore, the smile still framing his open mouth. Everything incinerated. Until a pile of ash rested where the boy once stood.

Zabuza's chest was beating fast. "Whoo, I actually got a scare then." He said as he chuckled and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Well there goes your saviour. Now where were we." Zabuza grinned through his facial bandages. He stepped over the pile of ash and moved towards the girl. Who took one step back for every two he took forward.

"Goodbye, Mito Namikaze, daughter of Konoha's yellow flash!" Zabuza extended his arm outwards, he would go for a horizontal bisection this time.

Before he could swing his sword, something grabbed onto his forearm.

_**Sing.**_

Zabuza's paled, that voice. He notice the girl's eyes widen dramatically as well. He had just watched the owner of that voice burst into flames. His head shifted slowly to look behind him.

The boy stood behind him, glaring at him in the eyes. The massive wound inflicted to the boy gone, he grabbed him with his left arm and held tight. "Impossible!" Zabuza screamed, his eyes darted to the arm he severed, it still lay there on the ground, so how could the boy just have grown a new one. He watched the boy combust, where were the burn marks! "How the hell did you survive!"

The boy's glare softened, he smiled that mocking smirk again. "I was reborn, through pain and fire."

The boy thrust his arm free right hand into Zabuza's elbow, bending it in the wrong direction. His arm snapped like a twig, a life of a ninja had gave Zabuza to not flinch over a broken bone. His hand freed it's grip on his massive sword, which flew slightly into the air.

Mito watched everything that transpired. How the boy, just reappeared, it was like he sprung up from his own ashes, like a phoenix. She watched him mercilessly break Zabuza's arm at the elbow. Catching the sword in mid-air, The red-haired boy caught it and spun in a circle, with one fluid motion spun the sword into Zabuza's neck, cutting through it like butter.

Zabuza's life ended at that moment. Ironically decapitated by the weapon that made his legend. The boy dropped the sword back into the ground.

Mito took a quick step back in fear when he looked at her. "I'm not finished yet." He spoke darkly, Mito was coming close to having a mental breakdown, first he saves her life, then he survives an impossible injury, accomplishing a feat impossible for humans and then in the end turns his attention to killing her.

"P-Please." Mito begged whisperingly. She knew that she had no leverage over this boy, but she didn't want to die here. She still had so much to do. Se never got to go on a date with one of the many boys that asked her. She never got a chance to prove that she was just an able ninja as her father and brother. She never got a chance to live a full happy life.

The boy's eyes darted at the sound of clapping, looking behind him she saw a short, stocky man with a cane and a cast around one arm. He was surrounded by an army of the thugs she had been seeing over the past few days. All sword drawn and chuckling to their own sick joke.

**-Break-**

"I should thank you, boy." The short stocky man spoke. "Now I don't have to pay him." He laughed loud. His thugs joined in, but he received no response.

"I am Gatō, boy, the millionaire. You impress me, perhaps you would like to work for me." Gatō grinned.

Still he received no answer, the boy didn't even move. And it was beginning to annoy him.

Just then an arrow landed at his feet. Far away from him were all the villagers of that pesky little village, led by a small boy.

"What's this?" He asked.

"We've come to defend our village. You will not escape, Gatō!" The small boy leading them shouted in defiance.

Gatō and his army laughed at the threat. "Oh come now! A bunch of villagers think they can take me down. Red-hair! You first job is to get rid of them!" Gatō ordered Teihaku like he owned him.

But still the boy didn't move.

"You said that you don't have to pay Zabuza now." He finally received a response from the boy. "Does that make him your associate?"

"Well yes, but he's more like my underling!" Gatō laughed loudly again. He laughter died down after the boy finished speaking.

"My orders, were to eliminate everyone associated with Zabuza Momochi." The boy spoke with a dangerous sigh.

Gatō looked at him weirdly. "Your orders, well, do you believe you can get through my army alone."

"I do." Teihaku replied darkly. He drew his sword from his sleeve. And took a step forward.

"Zabuza-san."

A soft voice attracted everyone's attention. Mito panicked when she saw the boy she had just knocked out approaching Zabuza's headless body. The boy fell to his knees next to it. His hands resting on Zabuza's chest.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Zabuza's precious little apprentice. Now I can repay you for breaking my arm." Gatō spoke with a sadistic grin, holding his cast arm in the air.

Haku looked up from Zabuza's body, Mito noted how the boy's expression had changed, it was violent, it longed for blood. "Who did this?" He spoke calmly, but his face was anything but calm.

"It was him!"

"He did it!"

"Gatō there! He's the one!"

The villager began pointing to Gatō and his army, excusing them of Zabuza's death.

"You little liars!" Gatō defended himself, he didn't like the look in Zabuza's apprentice's face.

"You with the red-hair." Haku spoke to the red-haired boy. "You are eliminating everyone associated with Zabuza-san. I shall help you with this scum." Haku's face hardened. That wasn't a request. Now he would kill Gatō, he never liked him anyway.

Teihaku only nodded, the younger boy seemed eager for blood. It might be fun to see his abilities.

Gatō panicked, his thugs followed suit. Gatō knew how dangerous this boy was. He opted for the best thing he could think of: High-tailing it out of here!

He turned around ready to run.

"I don't think so!" Haku shouted, speeding through as series of hand seals his palms slammed onto the ground. "_**Ice Release: Soul Viewing Reflecting Barrier!**_"

Huge walls of ice surrounded Gatō and his men, the only opening in the wall was in the direction of Haku and the red-haired boy. The ice was reflective his appearance and contorted it, like a fun house mirror. His head was bulbous, he looked down right ugly.

"Go ahead." Haku motioned to the red-haired boy. Who nodded in response.

He vanished! Gatō's men began spraying blood everywhere as they fell. The red-haired boy slashed through line after line of his army. Gatō dared to look at the mirror again, he caught the boy's reflection.

His red hair seemed to extended, blood flowed around and on him like sweat. It was a demon. A red demon. Dyed red with blood.

His world darkened, standing over him was this demon. Glaring down at him. Gatō looked around, all his men lay on the bridge dead. No one else had moved, it had all been this one boy.

"P-P-Please. P-Please don't kill me. I'll give you the world. I'll give you all the money in the world, just don't kill me-"

Gatō's head left his shoulders, a fitting end for someone like him. The villagers cheered as the head flew high in the air. They moved towards the carnage, standing around Haku, thanking him, and to get a closer look to make sure that the man that had terrorised them for so long was indeed dead.

"It's over." Tazuna cried, hugging his grandson. Mito couldn't help but smile at the atmosphere, Gatō was one person who deserved to die. The boy, Zabuza's apprentice looked like this was one of the only times he killed. But he still seemed happy, his smile was pure.

"No. It's not over." They all turned to see the red-haired boy facing them, the villagers gulped in unison. His stare fixed solely on Haku.

"My orders are to eliminate everyone associated with Zabuza Momochi." He repeated, moving towards the group.

The villagers took a step back, yet Haku stood perfectly still. "I understand." Was his response.

As Teihaku moved ever closer to Haku, Mito jumped in between them, throwing her arms out wide.

"No!" She shouted loud. "I won't let you kill him!"

"It's okay." A soft voice spoke behind her, a hand gently touched her shoulder. She turned to see Haku smiling at her.

She grew angry again.

"Why does everyone smile in the face of death!" She shouted at the both of them this time. "What is so amusing about coming to your end!"

Neither of them answered for a while, they both seemed confused at her question.

"It's not as much amusing as it is accepting." Haku began answering. "You smile for different reasons, the ones who don't smile usually have something still to live for. With Zabuza gone, I've lost my purpose to live, to carry on, in death I will not have to feel that loneliness, that emptiness, the feeling of not even needing to exist."

"But by carrying on, you can find a new purpose." Mito tried to reassure him of life.

"Why are you protecting him?" Mito heard the red-haired boy speak sharply, as if impatient. "He killed your teammate."

Mito looked down, it was a tough question. "I know he did...and I can never forgive him for it. But there's something about his eyes. I can tell, that he is good, pure."

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura screaming could be heard again, but this was more of delight, they turned to see, Sasuke groggily sitting up, Sakura clamped onto him, crying profusely.

Mito only looked at Haku, he looked back to her and smiled. "I did what I had to. He was too stubborn to surrender."

Mito smiled in return at him. "You see, he doesn't deserve to die, he's not like Zabuza." She turned to Teihaku again. He had stopped moving to look at Sasuke. Before shaking his head and began moving towards them again.

"My orders are my orders. I must obey them."

Mito growled in frustration "Argh! Can't you just go against your orders this one time! It's not like he's gonna hunt your boss down or something!"

The villagers began to agree with her, chanting to Teihaku to allow Haku to live. But he wasn't listening, he lifted his sword high, preparing to strike Haku down.

_'Teihaku.'_

"Leader."

_'Is Zabuza dead?'_

"He is dead. Shall I bring his head as proof?"

_'No there is no need. Return to headquarters immediately.'_

"Yes, Leader."

They villagers and Mito looked at the Red-haired boy having a conversation with the sky. He looked back at Haku, before sheathing his sword.

"You are lucky. This girl and the villagers stall enough time in order to spare your life." They listened to the boy say, as he turned around and began walking away.

"Wait!" Everyone turned to Haku, even Teihaku stopped to listen to what he had to say. "It wasn't Gatō who killed Zabuza-san, was it?"

"No. It was me." Was the red-haired boy's quick reply.

Haku's fists clenched tight, blood spill from his palm. "I see. You've taken my purpose for living away from me, but I can tell by looking in your eyes, you know that same feeling, a life without a purpose, you've lived one yourself."

"Do not pretend to know me. Do not attempt to understand me." He sounded angry. He frowned hard at Haku. "If you want a purpose in life, then listen well. That girl and those villagers saved your life, so you owe them a life debt. Protect this village and the people within it. Get your purpose from keeping them safe."

Haku looked shocked at his suggestion. "I don't know." He hadn't been in a society for so long, he had always been hiding.

"That's a great idea!" Mito smiled at Haku.

"It is and I have a spare room at my house. You are welcome to live with us, after all you helped kill Gatō, who killed my son-in-law, I feel indebted to you as well!" Tazuna spoke throwing his arm around Haku's neck.

Inari grabbed the older boy's hand. "And I always wanted a brother."

Haku smiled at this. A family. Something that was taken from him by his own father, Zabuza gave him a taste of what it was like to have it back. Perhaps with these people he could reclaim it fully. "Very well."

The villagers erupted in cheers, all clambering around Haku, welcoming him to their village. Haku laughed and looked at Teihaku, he nodded at him in thanks, he received a quick nod in return. The red-haired boy began to leave.

As he turned around he felt something grab onto his cloak. That girl had stopped him. "What?" He asked quickly.

"Nothing, you just seem so familiar to me." She looked at him closely in the eyes, before grinning widely. "It probably because you look so much like my dad!" She laughed.

"Can I go now?" He sighed, she stopped laughing and blushed, relinquishing her grip on his cloak.

"At least tell us your name!" Tazuna shouted over the cheering of the crowd.

Teihaku looked at Tazuna in the eye.

"My name is Teihaku."

Teihaku disappeared in a flash of red. Leaving the cheering villagers, heading back to Akatsuki headquarters.

**-Break-**

Kakashi's eyes opened slightly, fighting to stay open. His vision was still hazy. He couldn't make heads or tails out of anything. But the sound of cheering filled his ears, what was going on, had the builders returned.

"At least tell us your name?" That voice was Tazuna's. How was he alive, had someone else killed Zabuza and his accomplice?

The cheering seemed to die down now, everyone seemed to be anticipating the response.

"My name is Teihaku."

Kakashi's eyes widened ever so slightly, he tried moving his head to get a glimpse. But his body was too exhausted, too much blood had been lost.

_'Teihaku.'_ The name struck him like a bullet. Sensei's eldest son's name. The one who had disappeared off the face of the Earth.

_'Impossible.'_ Kakashi closed his eyes again, letting sleep take over him. _'Just a coincidence.'_

**-Break-**

Haku patted down the last bit of dirt down, it had been two days. But finally he had the time to bury his former master. Washing his body clean from any impurities. He was hoping that it would help allow Zabuza to enter heaven.

He push the makeshift gravestone in the dirt above the bulge of earth where Zabuza's body lay. He placed an assortment of wild flowers of the grave. The grave was over looking the forest, the sea could seen be in the distance. Something Zabuza would have hated, but was what he deserved.

"Zabuza. You were a vicious, savage human being. But you also were capable of extreme kindness, me being alive today proves that, if you had left me in the snow all those years ago, I would have surely died. You taught me everything you knew about the world, most of it was true. The world is a kill or be killed place, however, you were never angry when I spared all those peoples lives. I should be thanking you for an eternity, you gave me a purpose, the will to press onwards, and now I have a new purpose. But I shall never forget you, Zabuza-san. I just wish that everyone else could have seen the same side of you as I have." Haku finished his short speech. No one was around to hear it. He had performed the entire burial alone. He lifted Zabuza's massive sword in one hand and thrust it into the ground behind the headstone. He left his master to rest in peace, he stopped momentarily to look back at the grave.

"Good-bye, Zabuza-san."

**-Break-**

Kakashi, Sasuke, Mito and Sakura stood facing the entire village. Tazuna, Inari, Tsunami and Haku stood in the centre of the first line. The bridge had moved much faster towards completion over the past 2 days. Over the next few weeks it should be ready, finally.

"Thank you again for everything. You are heroes." Tazuna beamed at them, if it wasn't for them all those days ago, he'd definitely be dead.

"You are all welcome to return anytime." Haku smiled at the group.

"Mito." Inari solely asked for her, she looked towards him. "Thanks for your words. They inspired me to inspire the town. You are responsible for giving courage back to this village." Tears began falling down his face.

Mito resisted the urge to break down in tears. "I did nothing, it was all you." She replied calmly. "Now let's go!" She hurried away from the group, so no one would see her crying.

The rest of the group didn't have much of a choice, giving their own quick goodbyes they left after Mito. The small wave village watched the heroes leaving forms, a smile on all their faces.

"Hey dad. You need a name. You know, a name for the bridge." Tsunami smiled at her father.

"That's right, I do, don't I." Tazuna looked up to the blank sign, where the name will be placed. "I got it. The Brave Wave Bridge."

Tsunami looked at her father, before shrugging her shoulders. "It'll do for now."

Tazuna looked at her incredulously. "What the hell's wrong with the name I give it!"

The villagers only laughed at the antics of the old bridge builder. The true hero to the village, the one that brought hope back to a poor, frightened land.

**-Break-**

Team 7 walked slowly back to Konoha in relative silence. Only broken by the birds squawking above them and their feet tapping the ground below.

"I should apologise." Kakashi broke the silence. "For passing out on the bridge and leaving you to deal with Zabuza."

"It's okay, sensei." Mito assured him. "You weren't at your full strength yet, anyone with eyes could have seen that."

"I know, but there were a lot of bodies lying around, so I can't help wondering, which one of you killed Zabuza and Gatō." Kakashi asked.

"It wasn't use sensei." Sakura spoke next.

"Yeah it was that boy." Mito smiled. "He appeared after you were knocked out, he killed Zabuza and Gatō and all of Gatō's men, well Haku helped him with them lot."

"Hmm." Kakashi just nodded. "That was nice of him. I hope you all thanked him for saving your lives. Did you ask for his name so you could thank him properly?"

"Yeah, Tazuna asked for it. He said his name was Teihaku." Mito responded casually. Sasuke, however noted how Kakashi's visible eye widened at the name, as if paling.

"Really, Teihaku, an interesting name. What did he look like, in case we see him on the road so I can thank him myself."

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain, he looked like-" Mito began.

"He looked just like Yondaime-sama, but with really red hair." Sakura butted in.

Kakashi only nodded. "I see..."

"Why so many questions sensei?" Mito asked, slightly suspicious at all of her sensei's questions.

Kakashi noticed her suspicious stare, he smiled. "No reason. It's just interesting. This Teihaku." Kakashi finished. It seemed no one else wanted to continue on this subject, so he let it be.

But he would have some important information to tell his sensei. Information he knew that his sensei had been dying to hear for the past 11 years.

**-Break-**

Teihaku entered the Akatsuki headquarters. The largest building in Amegakure. He entered the highest room, Pain wasn't here. He felt a presence watching him. "Madara, or is it Tobi now?" He asked the figure lurking in the shadows.

Said man stepped out. "It is Tobi now? You will refer to me as such until further notice." Madara, or Tobi spoke bluntly.

"Very well." Teihaku sighed, he didn't want an argument.

"Pain informed me that your mission was a success. He has some business to attend to right now. But you can report to me." Madara spoke, Teihaku unable to read any emotions through the orange spiral mask.

"Well that's pretty much it. Zabuza's dead, so is Gatō the businessman." Teihaku reported uninterested.

"Gatō! The millionaire. Why did you kill him?" Madara sounded generally surprised.

"He chose to associate himself with Zabuza. I followed my orders." Teihaku replied as blunt and as bored as ever.

Madara only nodded. "Well congratulations anyway, besides now we can receive some more funding by dipping into his bank account. I'm sure Kakuzu will be thrilled." He chuckled deviously.

"Is my next assignment ready yet." Teihaku stopped the man chuckling.

"No, sorry." Madara only shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have anything urgent that needs taken care of."

Teihaku frowned and nodded, before turning around. "Very well." He began to leave.

"And where do you think you're going?" Madara reprimanded him like a child.

Teihaku's frown only hardened, he didn't turn around to face the man that asked him the question.

He remembered something he said three years ago, he considered it a promise he made to the now dead Mizukage, Yagura. A promise he intended to keep.

_"Oh, so the Yondaime Hokage and I share a technique? Then he's next on my list of people to kill."_

"**Konoha.**"

* * *

A/N: OOOOOOH! So much dveelopment this chapter, mainly on Mito's part, she finds it hard to understand peoples reaction to death other than fear, therefore panics when everyone starts smiling in death. A bit of development of Sasuke as well. He won't become a goody two shoes, but he will open up to Naruto and maybe Mito.

Haku's ending was nice, it didn't feel right killing him off, and if he went to Konoha, I would have no use for him, he'd just fade out. He will have a more prominent role in part two.

I apologise for the graphicness of Teihaku's injury, but I wanted to make it apparent to you guys what his natural instincts put him through to protect his little sister. And now he's going to attack his father...wierd.

Chunin exams next. Naruto will have a role in them. I could give you a clue, but I don't want to spoil it. So now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go catch up on the recent manga chapters of FAIRY TAIL! *Wink, wink*

Till next time.

Please review! x

Rinne-Kami, out!


	12. Chapter 9: Revelations

**A/N:** Yo, sorry this took longer than expected to get up. And while I'm saying sorry, sorry that it's suckishly short. But with that being said, I can move on to the Chunin Exams right away. With a twist of a twist in there and about six spoonfuls of plot. So here we go.

* * *

Madara glared hard at the back of Teihaku. This one action could destroy all of his plans. "And why are you going to Konoha?" Madara spoke, anger prominent in his voice.

Teihaku didn't turn around, he carried on walking. "I have my own assignment that needs completing there." He repeated.

Madara's anger rose. "You will not go to Konoha!" He ordered at Teihaku.

"You will not stop me!" Teihaku ordered back. All the while leaving the room.

Madara vanished within a second a hand wrapped around Teihaku's neck, ploughing him into the wall, Teihaku grasped the wrist to try and free himself. Madara stared at his actions, his _**Sharingan**_ boring a hole through the boy.

"I am your leader, boy! I am Akatsuki's leader!" Madara yelled infuriated. "You will obey me!"

Teihaku gasped with the lack of oxygen "Pain is the leader of Akatsuki-"

"AND I CONTROL PAIN!" Madara's voice rose, his _**Sharingan**_ spinning madly.

His Sharingan eye widened when the boy vanished, he cold sting of steel touched his neck. Madara's head turned slightly to see Teihaku standing behind him, his sword was the one wrapped around his neck. "I see." Madara spoke, now much calmer. "When you grabbed my wrist as I was choking you, you marked me, a careless mistake on my part, I admit. Were we to fight now, it would become a test of who's chakra capacity and control is greater. Neither of us will be able to strike as we will both continue to warp. And the _**Hiraishin**_ is too powerful even for me to counteract it. I know, I have had painful experience battling it. This is why I cannot allow you to go to Konoha, facing the Yondaime would be suicide, he has far better control than you. And I need you alive."

"I am nothing to you, Madara." Teihaku calmly answered from behind him. "I am only your pawn, a liability, I am something you will replace as soon as I fall. You don't need me."

"No, Teihaku." Madara chuckled darkly. "After Pain and Zetsu, YOU are my greatest weapon." His Sharingan lit up again with the confession. The red-haired boy didn't respond and frowned hard at him, so he continued. "You have no possible idea of the fear you could inflict onto the world, particularly Konoha. Given your history with it after all." Madara grinned under his mask, exactly after those words were said, the sword inched closer to his throat, he had struck a nerve. "Oh, would you like to know _why_ you are how you are?"

"You will tell me what you know about my past!" Teihaku spoke with an indoor voice, yet ferocity and rage were evident in his voice.

"Very well." Madara began. "But to begin your story we must start with another. The story of the Yondaime Hokage's eldest son."

**-Break-**

"Well done Team 7!" Minato grinned at the team. "A-rank missions are never easy."

The three kids looked at the Hokage confused.

"The mission rank got moved up to A-Rank, because a missing nin was involved, therefore you receive A-Rank pay." Minato grinned, a Chunin handing each of them their paychecks, Mito looked at hers confused.

"Why do I get a paycheck as well? I mean I live with the Hokage." Mito asked.

"Well you don't want to live with me and your mom forever, do you?" Minato responded with a grin, Mito silence was the only answer he needed.

"Mito, Sasuke, Sakura, why don't you go home and get some rest, I'll finish the report." Kakashi smiled down at them, they all nodded before walking away.

"I can't wait to tell Naru-nii my first main mission was a A-Rank!" Mito beamed. The muffled sound of Minato's giggling could be heard, they all turned to see the Hokage, a Cheshire grin plastered on his face. "What's so funny?" Mito asked suspiciously.

Minato continued giggling. "It only depends on IF you see Naruto. You see, he devotes all his time to his little girlfriend now." Minato's giggle grew louder.

A collective group of eyes widened. "NARU-NII HAS A GIRLFRIEND!" Mito shouted, flabbergasted at the revelation.

Sakura stood not as much as shocked as Mito, but still pretty shocked. _'I can't wait to break it to Ino.'_ Sakura thought deviously as she left the room. Sasuke soon followed after dragging Mito's frozen body with him, her still looking as flabbergasted as when she was first told.

Minato continued giggling. "You know, I actually had a girl that cried when I told her." Minato saw that Kakashi was forcing a smile. He quickly stopped laughing. "What is it Kakashi?"

"The events surrounding Zabuza's death." Kakashi exclaimed, Minato nodded in understanding.

"Your report says that you fell to unconscious before you could kill Zabuza, are you wondering which one of your team killed him?" Minato spoke, skimming over the report again.

"No, I know that all three did not kill Zabuza, or Gatō, or Gatō's bodyguards." Kakashi confessed.

Minato went wide eyed. "Are you saying someone else did this?"

"Exactly." Kakashi shifted uncomfortably. "After I was knocked, due to lack of blood and exertion from a previous fight." Kakashi defended his skills. "Apparently a boy appeared on the bridge, and decimated all of the previously mentioned single-handedly."

Minato mouth opened. "It was all one boy." He repeated.

Kakashi only nodded, now was the part he didn't know how to put. "Mito spoke to him." Kakashi began. "He said it was his orders to assassinate Zabuza. Mito described him as having spiky, red hair. And according to Tazuna, there was no sign of a Kiri headband."

Minato smiled, leaning back into his chair. "So it was an wondering ninja, trying to make a name for himself, well he's done it. I don't see any problem with-"

"He gave the village and Mito his name." Kakashi interrupted. "He claimed that his name was Teihaku."

Minato's smile evaporated instantly. He stared at his masked student. "T-Teihaku." He repeated quietly. Kakashi only nodded. "And what else does Mito know?" Minato worried about if Teihaku told her the truth of their relation.

"Nothing, I believe." Kakashi's brow rose. "If she did she would had confronted me about it as well."

Minato sighed in relief.

"However, I recommend not confronting her any further about this. She grew suspicious after I asked her a few questions about him. If you were to begin asking questions as well, she might realise something." Kakashi spoke again.

Minato nodded. "I agree." However a large smile was set on his face. "But now at least I know he is alive. Finally I can put Kushina's mind at rest, or at least a little bit."

**-Break-**

Naruto sat on the Hokage monument, over looking his village. Fū sat next to him. Her face kept trying to smile, but he could tell something was the matter.

"Are you worried?" Naruto spoke. Fū turned to him, but he continued to look over the village, the wind blew gently onto them, his blonde locks dancing with it. "About the seal upgrade tomorrow."

Fū looked towards the stone she sat on. "A little bit. But the Hokage is a very talented man. And the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya will be there as well to help. I couldn't possibly be in any safer hands." She smiled at him. Naruto's eyes moved to her direction and gave a quick smile in return.

Fū's smile faltered, she turned to look over Konoha. "After the seal upgrade, I will have to return to Taki." Her voice was sad.

"Yes, you will." Naruto quickly replied, not understanding the underlying message of her sentence.

Fū's face saddened, slowly, she inched up closer to Naruto, until she sat exactly next to him, she allowed her head to fall onto his shoulder. She continued looking out towards the village.

Naruto looked to her, feeling the extra weight on his shoulder. 'She must be tired.' Naruto thought as his attention turned back to his village.

"But I don't really want to go back." She confessed. "I like it here."

"You have to go back." Naruto quickly replied.

"But can't you talk to your father, I'm sure the Hokage wouldn't mind another Jinchuuriki in Konoha." Fū tried to reason with him.

"Not for the village, not for the Hokage. You must return to Taki for yourself." Naruto looked at her. "So you can prove to the villagers that every single one of the assumptions they made against you was wrong." Naruto looked directly at her now, to get his message across clearly.

His message was received by Fū, who smiled at him. "If I go back to Taki, will I ever see you again?"

Naruto shrugged his free shoulder sluggishly. "Probably." He mumbled loudly, looking back over the village.

Fū smiled and joined him with looking over the village. "I'd like that..."

**-Break-**

The sand swirled around them in the wind. A girl with dark green eyes and blond hair, which was gathered into four pigtails arranged around her head stood. Her clothing consisted of a single light purple-colored garment that extended from below her shoulders to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition fishnet was incorporated and was worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh, her Suna headband tied around her neck.

Next to her stood a boy in a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. His head was adorned with a black hood with cat-like ears and his forehead protector on his forehead, covering his hair completely. On his face he sported a triangular face-paint design in purple. Wrapped on to his back was a massive instrument, bandages hiding the contents from view.

They waited as sand twirled around a large gourd lifting it up, waiting for the boy in front of it to tie the leather band around himself. He wore black full body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, ¾-length legs, and an open neck. With this, he wore a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hips, and a wide leather band system over the left shoulder and right side of his hips. He also wrapped his forehead protector over the band. The sand blew away, moving his short red locks in the wind.

The boy stared at the two in front of him. "Temari, Kankuro, let's go." He ordered in a calm raspy voice.

Both shook their heads weakly. "Yes, Gaara." The girl, Temari replied. Beginning to walk off with the other boy, Kankuro.

The youngest, Gaara began walking as well, before being stopped. "Gaara." He turned to see the leader of the village, the Kazekage staring at him sternly, Gaara's face didn't falter from his apathetic look. "It will take three days to reach Konoha for the Chunin Exams. Try to contain yourself until then."

Gaara only nodded, before continuing on towards Konoha, and perhaps someone worthy to help him rectify his existence.

**-Break-**

Fū and Naruto slowly walked through the streets of Konoha, occasional glances from jealous girls went their way, it had been two days since the seals upgrade and immediately Fū felt more at ease with herself. She felt more in control. Maybe soon she could start to be able to control it.

They approached Naruto's clan house. Confusing Fū. "Hey Naruto, if you're dad's the Hokage, why doesn't he live in the Hokage mansion?"

"Because the Hokage mansion wasn't big enough for our family. My mom and dad wanted a personal training ground for us as well." Naruto answered quickly. "Plus I think that my dad thought it was cruel to move the Sandaime Hokage out of there after he lived there for so long. So the Sandaime continues to live there, as my dad's closet and most trusted advisor, other than my mom." Naruto chuckled slightly, Fū was a little taken back, this was the first time she had heard him laugh.

As they approached the door, Naruto's hand grabbed the handle. "Um..." He turned to see Fū shifting uncomfortably on the spot. He let go of the handle and turned back around to her, "What is it?"

She didn't answer at first, she looked as if she was choked. "I-I was wondering... if um... you wanted to um...you know go out to dinner tonight, with me?" She whispered out. "As a congratulations for it being a success kind of thing." She quickly added, so she didn't look like she was coming on to strong.

Naruto shrugged his shoulder again. "Why not? And I'll bring Mito along, you and her will probably get along well."

"No." Fū almost shouted. "I'm not good with meeting new people."

Naruto looked at her weirdly before sighing. "Alright then, just me and you." A small smile set on his lips.

Fū returned a much larger smile, before waving a quick goodbye, and darting off, Naruto could have sworn that she was skipping. Naruto sighed before entering his house.

**-Break-**

Kushina pressed her ear up against the front door, it was probably wrong of her to eavesdrop on her son's conversation, but she wanted to make sure that this girl was playing her son about.

Mito walked in from the kitchen to see her mom pressed against the door. "Er mom...what are you doing?"

Kushina shh'ed her and gestured her to come over, Mito sneaked across the floor and pressed her ear against the door, now being able to hear the muffled voices of her brother and a girl.

"you wanted to um...you know go out to dinner tonight, with me?"

"Why not?"

Mito's eyes widened at the muffled conversation. She saw her mother giggling and couldn't help but giggle herself. Slowly they backed away from the door before they were caught, however Naruto entered before they couldn't fully leave. He stared at both of them funny, trying to determine the looks on their faces. "What's so funny?"

Both girls shook their heads, trying to suppress grins. "Nothing, Naru-nii." Mito giggled out.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever." With that he walked up the stairs and away from them.

Once he had left Mito and Kushina turned to each other and giggled. "I can't believe Naruto's going on his first date." Kushina sighed out.

"And I can't believe Naru-nii's going on a date before I do." Mito gave a louder sigh. "Wait a minute." Her head shot up. "Does Naru-nii even have anything to wear for it?"

Kushina tapped her chin for a moment, before a wide smile spread on her face. "I don't think he has, and that means I get to take him shopping!" Kushina nearly squealed.

Mito joined in on the giggling. "Can I come too?" She begged, her mother nodding was all the approval she needed. "But can we do it later? I'd like to take a quick walk first."

"Fine, go on your little walk. But be back soon, I don't want him going out in those clothes." Kushina yelled out the door to the leaving Mito.

**-Break-**

Mito crossed the bridge, she had been walking for 27 minutes, she always liked to keep time of her walks, because she knew how peaceful walking was to her, it helped her think, it wasn't strenuous, just relaxing.

"Mito." She heard someone call out, Sasuke Uchiha stood looking at her. She smiled and waved. "What are you doing?"

"Well I was doing something, but it is not important. What's up Sasuke?" Mito asked, turning to him.

Sasuke moved forward, he seemed reclined to say what he was going to say. "On our team introductions day." He began. "You said that one of your hobbies included talking walks. That is one of my hobbies as well. So I guess what I am trying to say is, do you want to take a walk together?"

Mito freaked out, her eyes bulged out of her head, Sasuke was asking her to do something with him, Sasuke, the same guy who hates everything. "Er...okay." Mito answered late, scared in case Sasuke blew a fuse.

Luckily for her they walked in relative silence, only the sound of their feet patting the ground broke it.

Finally Sasuke decided to speak up. "So, what happened to Haku on the Wave mission?"

Mito nodded her head in realisation, Sasuke was unconscious when it all went down, it would be natural for him to want to know what had happened to the guy he couldn't defeat.

"He lives in peace, in Nami no Kuni." Mito smiled at the thoughts of the cheerful boy.

Sasuke nodded in return. After that they continued their silent walk. Along through the back alleys of Konoha.

"Get of me! Don't you know who I am!" Around the corner they saw Konohamaru Sarutobi, the Sandaime's Grandson, held up by his collar in the grip of a much larger boy.

"Yeah, I see a cocky little brat whose in over his head." The larger boy, clad in black replied, pulling his free fist backwards.

Sasuke glared at the boy, picking up a small pebble he threw it hard at the boy's fist, he dropped Konohamaru in a shock. Sasuke and Mito stepped out.

"Mito-nee-chan!" Konohamaru ran straight behind Mito, hiding behind her body.

"Great, more brats, if there's one thing I can't stand, it's brats!" The older boy growled, grabbing the large bandaged item on his back.

"Kankuro, there's no need to use that!" The girl he was standing with shouted.

"Shut it Temari, these kids have got to learn their place." The boy, Kankuro retaliated.

Sasuke stepped forward, drawing a kunai, he was itching for a fight since Haku beat him. "Bring it on wise guy." Sasuke egged, his _**Sharingan**_ activating.

Before either could make a move, a large spiralling gust of wind appeared between them, as it faded, a boy stood calmly in between them.

"Stop this." The boy spoke, looking at both of them.

Sasuke smirked. "Naruto."

Naruto nodded at Sasuke and Mito.

"I don't take your orders, especially because you're a brat." Kankuro shouted, pulling the large bandaged item down from his back, make a large smack when it hit the floor.

Naruto turned to Kankuro, drawing his sword. "Very well, but remember I gave you the option of backing down." Naruto calmly reminded him, he had been wanting to try something out, everyone seemed to cower in fear at the Hyuuga's and Kakashi's eyes, perhaps 'his' eyes could have the same effect. Taking the smallest of portions of the Kyuubi's chakra, he sent it to his eyes, turning them blood red and demonic.

It apparently worked, Kankuro seemed to back off a little, before he regained his composure. "And I want you to remember that I don't listen to your orders!"

"Then perhaps you'll listen to mine." A apathetic voice rang out, Kankuro instantly paled. They all turned to the voice's source.

Hanging upside down on the tree branch was a boy with red spiky hair, with prominent black circles around his dull teal eyes, a massive gourd strapped on to his back.

"G-Gaara. I'm sorry." Kankuro instantly began apologising. Putting the bandaged item back on to his back.

_'That stealth was unbelievable, that must be Kakashi's level.'_ Sasuke stared at the red haired boy.

_'How could we miss that massive gourd?'_ Mito asked herself, this boy was good.

_'Gaara!'_ Naruto was astonished, was it really Gaara, a friend he had not seen for many years.

With a swirl of sand, Gaara appeared in between Naruto and Kankuro. "I apologise for my brother's actions. We didn't make any disrespect." Gaara apologised directly to Naruto. "However, for both of you to stop Kankuro, one of you with something as simple as a pebble, I would like to know your names."

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke replied instantly, putting his hands in his pockets.

"You already know my name Gaara, Son of the Yondaime Kazekage." Naruto smiled at Gaara, Mito was twice astonished, first this boy was the son of the Kazekage, and second the smile Naruto showed him, it was a smile that even she hadn't seen Naruto give before.

"You appear to already know me, why is that?" Gaara asked.

"Because we met before, I'm Naruto, don't you remember." Naruto replied softly.

Temari's and Kankuro's eyes widened together, this was the Naruto that Gaara had babbled on about all those years ago, the one who had called Gaara a hero, and a friend, before _that_ incident. '_And he's kind of cute too._' Temari added in her own mind.

"I have discarded everything I remember." Gaara looked at him dead in the eye. "It all turned out to be lies anyway. Now I only focus on my future" With that Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand.

"Let's go Kankuro, we have to get ready for the Chunin Exams." Temari said, walking away.

"Right, I'll get you kids yet." Kankuro pointed to Sasuke, Naruto and Konohamaru, before following after the girl.

Naruto watched the trio leave. 'Gaara.' He thought sadly. 'What could have happened to you?'

"Did that girl say the Chunin Exams?" Mito scratched her chin.

"Yes, the Chunin Exams are approaching. Your team will be participating." Naruto replied, sheathing his sword. He took a step back when the smaller brown haired boy was directly in front of his face.

"Wow you are so cool!" Konohamaru shouted in glee. "I demand training from you so I can be as cool as you!"

"No."

"Hey! You can't deny me! I'm the Grandson of the Sandaime Hokage!" Konohamaru shouted his arguments for the training.

"And I am the son of the Yondaime Hokage." Naruto replied, inwardly he loved throwing that title around.

Konohamaru took a step back, before darting to look at Mito, then at the Yondaime's monument on the mountain. "Yes yes, I see the resemblance." Konohamaru muttered to himself, yet loud enough for everyone to hear.

His facial features suddenly lit up. "You have to train me!" He finally shouted. "A relative of the Hokage should train the relative of another Hokage after all!"

Naruto sighed, this kid wasn't gonna give up. He looked up to the sky. _'How am I gonna get out of this?'_ He whined in his own mind.

**-Break-**

"I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend my team, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Mito Namikaze to participate in the forth coming Chunin Exams."

"I, Kurenai Yuuhi, recommend my team, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga to participate in the forth coming Chunin Exams."

"I, The Beautiful Green Beast, Might Guy, recommend my youthful team, Rock Lee, Tenten and Neji Hyuuga to do battle in the forth coming Chunin Exams!"

"I, Asuma Sarutobi, recommend my team, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi to participate in the forth coming Chunin Exams."

Minato smiled at the three sensei's "Well, such a rare occurrence it is to have all three rookie teams participating. I'm glad I set out the second stage of the exam so well, otherwise they might all pass."

"Speaking of which." Kakashi interrupted. "Is the second stage really set in the Forest of Death?"

Minato nodded. "It is, a good test for this year's batch, they are very talented. So much so that I have organised an added obstruction during that stage of the exam."

"And what is the added obstruction?" Kurenai inquisitively asked.

Minato smiled, telling them will be good. "It's less of a what and more of a who..."

**-Break-**

"I see. So that's why I shouldn't be going to Konoha." Teihaku spoke quietly, his eyes unfocused on the floor.

"You don't have to believe what I've told you. But because of you the Yondaime Hokage's eldest son disappeared of the face of the Earth, granted that already shows your prowess as an assassin, but you felt weak, so you begged Orochimaru to make you strong, hence why you were in that tube, for so long, I only imagine that while you were in that tube, Orochimaru placed powerful memory seals on you. So you wouldn't be haunted by your past." Madara spoke the partial truth, so he twisted the story a bit so Teihaku would follow his goals, besides it was Teihaku's fault that Teihaku vanished.

This was one of the first emotions Madara had seen from the boy, other than rage, sadness. _'Him and his generation.'_ Madara smiled at the thought. _'They are all so ruled by their emotions.'_

"The final ring has been placed on a finger, it is time for the organisation to meet." Madara spoke.

Teihaku only nodded slowly, before turning to leave.

Madara had to admit, he felt sorry for the boy, being told something that he couldn't remember. "Teihaku." He stopped the boy. "If you are so desperate to see Konoha. I may have a job for you there."

The boy turned around to face him slowly. "This will not be an assassination mission, we don't want to attract that attention, especially during the Chunin Exams." Madara continued. "The man I want you to keep an eye on is someone who isn't as much as a nuisance as he once was, but he IS still the God of Shinobi." Madara said the nickname with snide. "Zetsu confirmed that Orochimaru intends to attack Konoha with Sunagakure during the Chunin Exams. I want you to spy on both Orochimaru and the Sandaime Hokage, and if you deem necessary, kill them both."

Teihaku nodded again. "Oh and Konoha and Suna's Jinchuuriki will be there, keep an eye on them, they are a part of our plans." Madara quickly added.

Teihaku had returned to his emotionless facade. "Yes Madara."

Madara smiled through his mask. "Good, now let's go meet the rest of the members, shall we?"

This were all going according to plan.

* * *

A/N: Well how was it, I think it was a little short, but I liked Gaara and Naruto's little reunion. And also technically Madara wasn't lying about the story, he just told it in a different way.

Well, To Become A Master, will be up eventually. And my new fic, Becoming The Legend, still has a lot of work, I thought it would be finished by now, but after rereading it I realised how crappy it was, so I scrapped it and started again, it's going a little better, but you guys can be the judge of that.

Chapter 13 will be up whenever. Read and Review, same as always. Your reviews are really appreciated.

Till next time.

Rinne-Kami Out.


	13. Chapter 10: Targets

**A/N:** Yo! It's been a while since I updated this, but I promised myself I'd update before Christmas and here we are, I managed to update my other two stories as well on the same day, so that's pretty good, I figured everyone's gonna update on Christmas or no one's gonna go online to read it, so I updated a little early.

Now onto the chapter. All in all, a fairly decent chapter, it's not a chapter 11 (or 8), but I feel like it has had more improvements since then, quite frankly it couldn't have been worse than the previous chapter or the Prologues, reading over them they are crap, I might have to revise them in the new year. Don't get me wrong I loved the opening scene of the previous chapter with Madara and Teihaku, but as a whole it was just so...meh. This one sees a different side to Naruto, even with Mito, he has his guard up, but now he has totally let Fu in, so he acts different with her.

Well can't say anything else now. See you in however long it takes for you to read the chapter XD

* * *

The dark cave illuminated with 10 holographic projections, each standing on a digit of a hand of a large stone statue, it's nine eyes closed tight.

"Finally the last ring is set." A voice rung out. "We can now begin our plans."

"Oi Pain!" Purple eyes grew angry. "Whose the tenth fucker over there there!" Cocking his head to the person stood on the Left little finger.

"Hidan, acknowledge your leader as such." The first voice rung out. "Take this moment to know your comrades."

The man's purple eyes widened, the concentric circles seemed to pulse, the holograms seem to turn to colour, where each person could look at the members of their organisation, but it was only for the briefest of moments, as the holograms soon returned to their dark green colour.

"I am Pain, but you will address me as Leader, for that is what I am." The man on the right thumb spoke, his purple concentric circles eyes, eased, looking to the person standing on the right Index finger next to him.

A large light blue eye was seen, the other was masked. "Deidara, hn." He spoke in a lazy yet agitated voice.

A amber eye opened barely by half, the prominent lashes at the corner of the eye could be seen, the eye, moved from person to person. "Konan." A soft feminine voice spoke, before the eye close again.

The Sharingan eye looked forward, uninterested in everything that was happening. "Itachi Uchiha."

"Zetsu." The figure on the final little digit on the right hand spoke in a calm voice, yet it had a childish nature to it.

The person sat stood on the Left little finger made no movement to speak. And after a while Hidan bust a vein.

"Well! Who the fuck are you!" Hidan shouted from across the gathering.

"Leader. Can I go to my assignment?" The figure finally spoke, his voice even more stoic and emotionless than Itachi's

"Not yet. I want to explain Akatsuki's purpose." Pain answered.

"WHO THE FUCK IS THIS GUY!" Hidan now completely lost it. "And why the hell is he so important that he can just go like that!"

"If you don't shut up." The figure's dark blue eyes darted to Hidan's purple ones. "My identity will be your killer."

Hidan laughed loud. "Are you fucking retarded!" He blurted between maniac cackles. "I'd like to see you try and kill me! Seriously!"

"Hidan." Pain called out. "He is the assassin of The Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura as well as Zabuza Momochi."

"Oh. So you're the one. The kid with hair dyed red with blood." The incredibly large figure next to him on the Left ring finger spoke. "Shame. I kinda liked the Yondaime Mizukage. And little Zabuza-chan as well. Anyone would've guessed that you have a grudge against Kirigakure. My name is Kisame Hoshigaki. And you are one of the few that I'm rather glad that you're on my side."

Some of the oddest eyes yet hardened, green irides, no pupils and red sclera. He stood on the left middle finger. "Kakuzu."

"Hidan!" Hidan called out loudly.

"Sasori, now let's get on with this." The smallest member interrupted Hidan quickly. His body hunched over on the final digit, the Left thumb. He looked over to the opposing thumb, where the leader stood.

"Sasori is right. Remember your comrades names. Now onto our plans. We are going to create a Kinjutsu." Pain stopped, waiting for any questions. " One so deadly that it could wipe out one of the five great nations in an instant. We will destroy the ninja system, making countries have no source of reliable defence, they will turn to use, with our infinite power to give their side the winning edge should they go to war. We will use the technique to annihilate their opponents, those against them will be too afraid to continue fighting, those with us will be scared into never using the power again, seeing as it is not in their control, after all, we're only mercenaries." Pain smirked. "We will scare the world to never start a war, through fear and pain, this world will come to know peace." Pain raised his arms wide. "Until the people forget that fear and use the weapon again. We will instill that fear again, and the cycle will repeat. We will create small periods of peace in this ceaseless chain of hatred that humanity lives."

"And how do you suggest we make this Kinjutsu?" Kakuzu asked with mockery.

Pain chuckled darkly. "The tailed beasts." He response, put a look of shock on many of the members. "We will collect the beasts, we will contain their power in this very statue we stand on!" Pain's arms flew wide again, power was intoxicating.

"Each of you will be given a tailed beast to collect. Deidara, you will target the Ichibi. Hidan, the Nibi. Sasori, Sanbi, Kisame, target the Yonbi. Kakuzu, the Gobi. Konan will target the Rokubi, the Nanabi and Hachibi will be open for anyone to test their mettle and take them down. But the Kyuubi, Itachi, you've have the psychological advantage over it's host, you deal with it." Pain gave out the orders. "Zetsu will work alone, functioning as our spy."

"And what of mystery boy, hn?" Deidara asked, ecstatic at the opportunity to test his art against something everlasting.

"He will also work alone as our assassin, should you become preoccupied or unable to collect your beast he will assist you. The rest of you will be put into two-man teams. Itachi with Kisame, Deidara will be paired with Sasori, Kakuzu and Hidan, Konan will work as my partner. Understood?"

Pain didn't wait for a response. "Now the final preparations are beginning to be put into place, do not attack your target yet, discover their location and learn of their abilities. These beasts are descended from something we couldn't even begin to understand."

The members nodded. "And one last thing." Pain added. "Teamwork is vital. Respect your comrades in Akatsuki and get on with them." Pain quickly ended the transmission afterwards. His hologram vanishing into nothingness.

**-Break-**

Naruto had never appreciated how light clothes were until now. Holding up the sheer weight of hundreds of items of clothing, his mom and sister had dragged him to go clothes shopping for some unknown reason, they just insisting that he had something nice to wear on special occasions. Then they couldn't decide what they considered nice.

His mom went for regal elegance. An open torso dark orange Yukata. Held together by a black belt around Naruto's waist. Black Hakama pants going under the Yukata, they were very very loose. All in all it made Naruto look like the princes he had seen in movies.

His sister went for something similar but everything was much tighter and smaller, she insisting that loose clothing wasn't the style that their age group went for in these times.

But Naruto was incredibly uninterested. What had happened earlier with Gaara had him locked in thought. Gaara was Naruto's first friend besides Mito. What had changed him to become like that, it wasn't hard to see the change in personality in Gaara, before he was timid, but caring, now he was cold, distant. He needed to find Gaara or his team mates to find out what had happened.

Dropping all the clothes on the floor he began to leave, his mom stopping him. "Something came up." He spoke first. "I need to sort it out. Sorry, but we have to do this another time." Naruto apologised, weaving around his mom and out the door of the shop.

Kushina looked to Mito for some sort of answer. Mito's head popped up over one of the clothes racks, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, what do you want to do now?" Kushina asked her daughter, knowing it was futile to chance after Naruto now.

Mito's mouth scrunched close with thought. "Well, I could really get some training in before the exams?"

Kushina's fingers snapped. "Oh yeah! There was something I needed to test on you anyway!" Kushina's fist landed in her other palm. Seeing Mito's scared look she explained. "Don't worry, if you pass, then you will be able to learn some really cool Jutsu!"

**-Break-**

Naruto walked along the food district of Konoha, streets of restaurants and shops filled the human sight. Their wasn't anything interesting about any of them except for one in particular.

A girl with blonde hair, pulled back into four pigtails sat comfortably, sipping away at some tea. Her pupilless green eyes lazily focused on the liquid in the cup.

Naruto recognised her as Gaara's team mate from earlier. Her other two team mates didn't seem to be in sight, now could be a good time...

"You." Naruto walked into the shop and approached her. "What is your name?"

Temari remembered him, the blondie that nearly fought Kankuro, he seemed a lot more different when he was close up. "My name is Temari." Her eyes darted to look at his, completely unintimidated by his presence.

Naruto sat down in the seat from across her. "You're Gaara's team mate, yes?"

Temari crossed her left leg over her right, staring at Naruto with a larger smirk than before. "His older sister as well."

Naruto nodded slowly in recollection. "Gaara mentioned a sister, I suspect that that Kankuro was Gaara's other sibling as well."

"His older brother." Temari replied, short and sweetly.

"Then perhaps you can tell me." Naruto leaned in closer to Temari over the table. "What happened to Gaara?"

Temari's gaze on him hardened. "First you could tell me a few things first, like how you know Gaara."

They continued their staring contest, neither averting from the other. Naruto nodded his head was, leaning back into his seat, Naruto began the story. "I was five. Me and my dad were travelling to Kumo for the Chunin exams. My dad had a big part in organising it, as did the other Kages." Temari's eyes widened at that.

"Do you know the two customs that need to be present for a Jinchuuriki?" Naruto changed the topic of conversation slightly, it appeared she did not.

_'There are customs?'_ Temari asked herself, she had never heard of anything like that.

"One. A Jinchuuriki must be a direct relative of any of the Kages that a village has possessed, with a connection to a Kage, people believed that a Jinchuuriki would be less likely to defect." Naruto looked at her, her eyes widening again.

_'So was that why Gaara was chosen?'_ Rang through Temari's mind.

"Two. In order to show off the power of the Kage of their village, the Jinchuuriki must be strong." Naruto finished the second custom, however he wasn't done explaining his own views on it. "Imagine, when the Jinchuuriki isn't strong, if they showed signs of weakness, would that mean the Kage was weak as well, Jinchuuriki quickly become hated, even when they are strong. Strength is linked intrinsically with fear. No matter what, Jinchuuriki can not escape what we are, no matter how much we try."

_'We?'_ Was a word that caught Temari's attention. "So...are you also...?"

Naruto nodded slowly, confirming her suspicions, he leaned in closer again, gesturing with his hand for her to do so aswell. "Look around at these people." Naruto said, Temari's eyes moved to the people sat in the tea shop with them, when they saw Naruto looked at them, they beamed widely and waved, they held no hostility towards him, or were they just very good at hiding it. "This village loves me..." Naruto continued. Temari had a feeling that a but was coming. "As long as I'm good, as long as I follow the rules, not shinobi guidelines. Their guidelines. How can I train to control it, when as soon as it's chakra is felt, their on edge, ready to strike me down?"

Naruto leaned back away from her, Temari noted how his face was calm throughout the entire time he demeaned himself. "Hypocrisy is ripe whenever there is a Jinchuuriki involved. They fear it's power, but are to afraid to learn how to use it. They can't see us for what we. Heroes." Naruto sighed, shaking his head.

Temari remembered.

"_Temari-nee-chan, I met a boy on the trip, he called me a hero! He called me his friend!"_

She remembered when Gaara came bouncing into her room, she hadn't been close to Gaara at all, she was told to stay away from him by her father, but he still viewed her as his older sister. Temari remembered her response to him, she shouted at him, told him to get out of her room and stay away from her, now that he had transformed into what he become now, she realised how it could have all been avoided.

Temari smiled to herself. "I remember Gaara saying someone called him a hero, it was you after all. I had never seen Gaara so happy when he told me that."

"Then what happened to him?" Naruto repeated his earlier question, right back onto the first subject.

"It was my uncle's fault." Temari answered, her smile swapping to sadness. "He had always loved Gaara, even when no one else did, he even took Gaara into his home when father refused to have him live with us."

Naruto was confused, it sounded like her uncle was doing Gaara a big help. "How did that make Gaara what he is today?"

"My uncle tried to kill Gaara." Temari answered, this time Naruto's eyes widened. "He wanted revenge, revenge on Gaara for killing his sister, our mother through childbirth, obviously he failed in completing his plan. I don't know many of the details, but I know that that wasn't the first time a shinobi tried to kill Gaara. My uncle would always comfort Gaara after he had to protect himself. When the one person who loved Gaara turned on him, he lost his mind. Gaara threw everything away and became what he is today. Gaara talks to himself now, he mumbles at to how he will be free from the darkness, but he's never been further in it's depths. I don't know why I'm telling you this, but you could be the only person who truly understands Gaara."

"I understand Gaara." Naruto nodded in agreement. "And I'll save him." Naruto smiled at Temari, who looked in shock.

"Why? Why would you do that for someone not from your village?" Temari asked.

"Because, Gaara was my first real friend too." Naruto's smile widened.

Temari could help but smile in return, a short laugh left her mouth. _'This guy's not so bad after all.'_

**-Break-**

The sun was setting over this sickening paradise in the trees. The children skipped home merrily to their loving parents. Workers came home happy and content. It was disgusting. But that wasn't what was on Gaara's mind. What was on his mind was that boy, that Naruto.

"Mother." Gaara whispered darkly to himself. "That boy from before. Why do I have this unquenchable need to kill him?"

Shukaku chuckled inside it's 'son's' mind. "**Because Gaara. He holds some of your past love, the love that haunts you. In order to escape your past and begin to truly exist, you must decimate him, leave nothing of him, nothing they could identify as him. Crush him into oblivion, the very same oblivion you lived in for so very long**!"

Gaara's eyes widened in manic glee. Arteries thickened in his sclera, all moving towards, his now visible dilated pupil. "Yes." Gaara giggled like a small child, albeit a small child with a sociopathic problem. "Soon I will be free."

**-Break-**

Kushina waited in anticipation for Naruto to walk down the stairs, his first date. Naruto slowly began walking downstairs. His attire was simple. Black jeans and a dark orange shirt, complete with a jacket and red tie. His shoes equipped with some of the weirdest things Kushina has ever seen, they were a canvas white, covering his feet entirely, a weird buldge thing appeared at the front of his shin.

"What the hell are those on your feet!" Kushina asked, her whole body leaning towards his shoes.

Naruto looked down at his shoes. "I believe they are called Sneakers. I bought them because I thought they would help with my stealth training, but I've never actually had a need to wear them. This is the first time I've worn them."

Kushina just looked at him sceptically. "Alright then, don't be home to late. And no funny business with her, be nice." Kushina pointed a finger.

Naruto only sighed, everyone was acting like this was a big deal, like he and Fū were married or something. Naruto closed his house gate after himself. Walking along to the house Fū was given for accommodation.

Naruto arrived at the door to the building where Fū was staying, at that moment Fū opened the door. Naruto was surprised at how different she looked. It was something as simple as tying her hair back, but it changed her appearance dramatically, her eyes were lined with a thin line of green, the same colour as her hair. A plain white shirt with a black skirt was her choice for clothing. Along with a pair of white boots that went up to just under her knees.

"You look...great." Naruto smiled at her, Fū was glad his eyes always shut when he smiled, he had probably never seen her blush.

"Thank you, but I didn't expect that we were supposed to wear formal clothing, I feel slightly under dressed." Fū chuckled quietly to herself, but suddenly found the floor very interesting.

Naruto looked at his own clothing, then at Fū's. "No, I'm just over dressed." He responded, taking off his jacket and tie and threw them away, undoing the top buttons of his shirt. "That's better, I feel more comfortable anyway." He smiled again.

Fū smiled in return. "I like your shoes."

Naruto blinked a few times before turning to look at his feet, he let out a small chuckle.

**-Break-**

"Bye Fū. I wish we could have gotten to know each other better." Mito waved madly at the girl Naruto had been hiding, she was very nice. Mito wondered why Naruto didn't want them to meet each other.

"So do I Mito." Fū smiled in return. "Perhaps if you visit Taki or I return to Konoha we can spend some more time together."

"I'm sorry, Fū." Naruto stood facing Fū at the gates of Konoha. "Sorry that I can not escort you back myself, but something important has come up, something that I am unable to ignore."

Fū looked back at him from in between her two new escorts. "It's okay Naruto-kun, I understand. If anything I should be thanking you, you've made me feel..." She was unsure how to end that sentence. "Goodbye." She needed to get away from him soon, so he didn't see her cry.

Naruto watched Fū begin to walk off. He smiled and waved at her back. All in all, he had enjoyed the time he spent with her, he could talk to her comfortably, because she was just like him.

Fū needed to do something. 'Goodbye' just wasn't enough, it didn't tell him how she appreciated everything he had done for her, he didn't need to spend everyday with her, listening to her stories of her village, comfort her when she was scared about the seal upgrade.

Fū quickly turned around, she hurried over to Naruto, before he could even react Fū quickly kissed him on the cheek, it wasn't where she wanted to kiss him, but even with this she could show that he meant a lot to her.

Fū moved back away, a red spray over her cheeks, she quickly took off again before Naruto had a chance to say anything.

Naruto touched the cheek she kissed in confusion, when he looked up again Fū and her escorts were gone. He stared at the road for a few seconds. Before Mito's giggling broke the silence.

Ignoring it, Naruto turned and headed back into the village, Mito quickly followed suit, walking side by side with Naruto. "So, are you gonna tell me what happened on your date with Fū?" She playfully asked.

"No."

"OH! So you admit it was a date then!" Mito giggled madly. "Come on tell me." Mito began whining. "Did you both confess your undying love for each other." Mito teased her brother, something she had never been able to do before.

A vein appeared on Naruto's forehead, Mito's was beginning to irritate him. All her talk about him and Fū marrying and having kids. He needed something to get her away from him.

"Aren't you late for something!" An agitated Naruto almost yelled.

Mito looked at him. "No. What could I possibly be running lat-" Mito stopped her own mouth with her eyes widening in realisation.

"MY EXAM!" Mito sped away, ploughing through the Konoha citizens on route to where the first exam was being held.

Naruto's brow rose as he watched his sister run away. "Can't believe I was right."

**-Break-**

Mito stopped just outside the room where the first exam was being held, she didn't want to run in making a scene. Calmly she opened the door and walked through it. She looked around for anyone she knew, and luckily Sasuke and Sakura stood just right of the door. She approached them quickly.

"Where have you been?" Sakura was instantly in there, almost shouting.

"I'll tell you later. Has anything happened yet?" Mito asked, looking around at all the participants.

"No. Everyone's to on edge to make a movement. The exam should be starting soon anyway." Sasuke answered.

Surprisingly a large puff of smoke appeared at the front of the room. Shadows leapt to the chairs lining the walls. In the middle of the smoke was an incredibly large man, his face riddled with scars. A large black trench coat covering him.

"Sit down and shut up!" He bellowed out. His voice like an angry bear. "My name is Ibiki Morino, and you've just entered the gates of hell!"

**-Break-**

Naruto watched the participants of the first written exam, Ibiki played with them like toys, something that Naruto was glad he never had to do. Even when they had passed he still toyed with them, Ibiki's pride in his mutilated head disturbed Naruto so. The two Hokages sat in the same room, watching what transpired during the first stage of the Chunin exam.

"As predicted." Minato smiled. "Many of them go through to the next round. Are you both ready?" He asked.

A young women with purple hair stepped out, brown eyes bore into the crystal ball. "You best follow my lead little blonde." She spoke in an authoritative yet playful manner.

Naruto sighed. "Do I really have to make such a big scene, Anko?"

Anko grinned madly. "Of course the world should know that we are-"

"ARRIVING!" The ball called out, Anko stood in front of Ibiki, her banner covering him from view.

Minato chuckled. "You've got to love her spirit."

Naruto waved his hand back and forth. "Yeah, yeah, I suppose I better get going as well." Naruto went up in a puff of smoke, disappearing out of the room.

**-Break-**

"Listen well maggots, coz I'm only gonna say this once." Anko shouted, alerting all the Chunin hopeful's attentions. "I'm gonna explain the second stage now, you can sign the consent form when we get there."

Instant murmurs of the consent forms began.

"Shut up!" Anko bellowed again. "Now, seeing as Ibiki went so easy on you, there's a tad too many of you, 78 of you to be precise. So we need to slash that number down quick. That's what this second stage is for, I expect that that number will be quartered by the time the second stage finishes, some of you may fail, some of you may die, I don't care about the details." Anko waved off, she loved the panicked look on the faces of these Genin when she mentioned death.

"Now, in order to pass, you and your team will have to receive one of these," Anko pulled out a scroll, Earth written clearly in black on the white casing. "and one of these." Anko showed another scroll, this time blue with Heaven written on it. "You cannot open one of these without the other so don't even try, if you do you will die." Again panic appeared.

"You said that you expect the number to quarter. That should be 20 people left. I assume each team will be given one scroll of either, and we will have to fight to collect the other scroll." Shikamaru lazily pointed out from across the room. "But that would leave 39 participants considering no one backs out or dies."

Anko smirked. "You're smarter than you look. You will fight each other, to the death if need be. However, the Yondaime Hokage has a firm belief that this generation is by far the strongest one ever. So he has added an extra challenge for the second exam, to help bring down that total."

"And what is this extra challenge?" Temari asked out of curiosity, it wasn't as if her team could lose. Hell, Gaara would probably half the numbers himself.

"The Yondaime Hokage has added an already promoted Chunin to the test. He will hunt down your teams and take your scroll, now if you are brave you can fight back, there might be a scroll in it for you, he is strong. I mean he is the-"

"I don't care who he is!" A random Konoha Genin yelled loudly, the many participants turned to him. "No one's gonna get in the way between me and a promotion to Chunin. He can be the son of the Hokage for all I care!"

"That's good. Because I am." A voice whispered calmly in his ear,, his charisma depleted instantly, he was unsure to check the identity of who said it, but the look of shock from everyone around he answered the question for him. His head turned against his will, to see a whiskered cheek, a cocky smirk next to it. Above it a pair of deep blue eyes, stared at him wide.

"My name is Naruto Namikaze." Naruto stood up, standing on the tops of the benches, he walked across the desktops and edges of the benches. "I am the son of the Yondaime Hokage, I became a Chunin at aged five, I didn't even enter the academy, I skipped the rank of Genin completely and..." Naruto jumped from the desk top landing next to Anko, his smirk never diminishing. "I am the obstacle in your path to Chunin." A relatively small amount of Killer intent rolled off his body with the final syllable, enough to affect even the most hardened Genin.

The sweat began pouring off the Genin hopefuls. Anko had to lick her lips because of the stunt Naruto pulled, he sure knew how to intimidate people. "This is gonna be good."

* * *

**A/N:** Well how was it? I did thoroughly enjoy Gaara's little scene, it showed...well I'm not sure what it showed but it showed something. You might have been expecting Naruto date, and for that I apologise, I might come back to it in a flashback.

Next chapter will be the Chunin Exams second stage, it will follow canon quite nicely, what with the whole Orochimaru situation. I'd like to ad Teihaku somewhere in that, but I'm not sure how.

Reminder. If you want to know what Teihaku looks like or just a better visual image, there's a link on my profile to a picture of him.

**Poll**. Now that Akatsuki's targets have been revealed, which one should they go for first when they start hunting?

Other than that, I want to wish you a merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (sorry if I spelt that wrong) or whatever your holiday is this season. And remember the meaning behind the holiday season, that's it's not how much you get, it's who you're with. So I know this sounds cheesy and stuff but spare a thought for those whose husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who can not be with them this season, who are still in the Middle East or have been lost there. Thank You.


	14. Chapter 11: A Villain, A Protector

**A/N:** Yo! Well my top priority was updated last, but that means I had the most time on it. But it has been a while since I updated, so for that I apologise. I hit a writers block and it was hard for me to write any of the chapters I've updated this month. So forgive me if this chapter is crappy in your opinion.

Honestly for me, it wasn't that bad, considering how much went down. I admit it could have been longer. But this arc is going to have a lot of fighting. So I really want to get through it as fast as possible. I'm not going to rush and leave you with crappy reads though.

Well that's about it. See you in however long it takes for you to finish reading the chapter.

* * *

Naruto's eyes scanned across all the teams of Chunin hopefuls. Each choosing to keep their distance from him. His objective was simple: retrieve their scroll and reduce the numbers of contestants. He needed to determine the easy targets, he doubt any of them could really beat him. Except for a few.

"Naru-nii!" Mito called out, he saw her and her two teammates approach him. His vision returned to looking at the other contestants, while he leaned comfortably against the fence for the second exam.

"Where are we, Naru-nii?" Mito asked him curiously, she had never been to this section of Konoha before.

"The 44th training ground. Attractively known as the Forest of Death." Naruto told them, not noticing the small jolt that shot up Mito's spine.

"Oh." Mito spoke in awe, staring at the enormous forestry. "Well I'm glad that you're the extra added challenge Naru-nii. That means you're always going to be close to me." She smiled widely.

Naruto looked back at her impassively, giving a quick nod. "Mito. Pinky. Sasuke. Look over there." He told them, ignoring Mito's pink haired teammates angry stare. The direction they were looking was into the crowd of Genin. "You see Gaara, the red head with the gourd on his back. Stay away from him during this exam, he's strong. Also, see the boy clad in green, with the black hair." He pointed to a boy with huge fuzzy black eyebrows, completely clad in green with the exception of his head, his bandaged hands, and the orange leg warmers at his shins. "Stay away from him as well."

"Why, he looks pretty weird. And pretty weak." Mito looked at the boy in some confusion, he was grinning madly, giving a thumbs up to his two teammates, who both looked extremely annoyed.

"Do not underestimate him, Mito." Naruto voice went up slightly, catching her attention. "He is stronger and faster then myself. You can not beat him, he will obliterate you." He told them, their heads whipped back to the boy. He was stronger and faster than Naruto?

Mito turned back to Naruto grinning. "See guys, my big brother will look at for us. He won't let anyone hurt his little sister." She threw her arm around Naruto's neck, who continued to stand impassively.

Gently moving her arm from around his neck, Naruto stood up right. "You're right, I won't." He told her, her grin widening even further. "But this is the last conversation I will have with you as your brother." Her smile faded instantly. "As soon as we went that forest. I am your enemy. My job is to reduce numbers, and I can't pick favourites. So my final warning is this. Stay away from me as well."

"ALL RIGHT MAGGOTS, LISTEN UP!" Anko's loud voice ended the conversation for them. They turned to face their exam proctor. "Each team will now be given either the Earth scroll or the Heaven scroll, you will also be told what gate you are starting at. Now start making some lines to collect your scrolls!"

Lucky for Mito and her team, they were standing next to one of the shrouded booths, covered so no other teams would know who carried the scroll. Mito, Sakura and Sasuke entered, a Chunin handing them a Heaven scroll and a gate number, number 10.

"Okay, whose gonna carry the scroll. Everyone is gonna think that me or Sasuke will carry it, so I say Sakura." Mito offered to the other to in a whisper.

"I'll carry the scroll." Sasuke returned. "Everyone will suspect that we will give it to Sakura, so the Last Uchiha and the daughter of the Yondaime Hokage can focus on fighting without worrying about losing the scroll." Sasuke quickly took the scroll from Mito, placing in in his shuriken holder and buckling it back up. "Now lets go."

Mito, Sakura and Sasuke moved towards gate 10. And there they stood. Watching other teams enter the same look, exiting with a shift gaze and move away towards their gates. They saw that Naruto still did not move from his position, eyeing each team that walked passed him into the booth.

A bell suddenly went of, the gates sprung open. Had time really flew that fast. They quickly went through the gate and into the forest, instantly all the light from the sun was blocked out. The humid air was almost suffocating, things sped and crawled across the floors and trees. Sakura and Mito both ducked behind Sasuke, who didn't seem fazed by any of this.

Looking over his shoulder, Sasuke sighed in annoyance. "Come on. The sooner we finish the sooner we can get out of here." Sasuke walked forwards, Mito and Sakura slowly shuffling behind him.

**-Break-**

"Aren't you going to get a move on?" Anko spoke to the unmoving blond, who continued to lean against the fence of the Forest.

"It wouldn't hurt to give them a ten minute head start." Naruto looked back at her with a small smirk on his face. "Besides, I just need to find teams and beat them. Most of them will be in a panic to finish, they'll leave themselves wide open."

"Well can you hack that?" Anko asked with a smirk of her own. "Are you ready to break the dreams of fellow Konoha comrades, some of them perhaps your friends."

"I am." His answer was void of any emotion, much like a hardened killer.

Anko chuckled. "You got spunk, kid. I like that. If only there was an older version of you." She cupped her hand around his cheek, before patting him on the face a few times. He didn't look amused. "You also need to lighten up a bit though."

Naruto ignored her, he entered his battle mentality. Focusing solely on his objective. "I'm going in." Naruto told her, turning and entering the closest gate.

Naruto looked around the forest, he wasn't fazed by the grotesqueness of it. Some rotting carcasses here and there, but this wasn't his first venture into the forest. He knew what could happen.

Up ahead were a team of three Iwa Genin, staring smugly back at him. "How lucky are we that you find us so early on. You're outnumbered, and you're the son of the Yondaime Hokage. We're going to enjoy this!" The leader of the three spoke. Each of them cracking the knuckles.

Naruto stared at the for a few seconds, each of them chuckling darkly. _'Cocky brats.'_ Naruto drew his sword and smirked, gesturing with his free hand for them to come. "Bring it on."

**-Break-**

"We're being followed." Sakura called from behind the three, they were jumping through the trees, this forest was vast, and so far they hadn't seen a single other team.

Three ninja clad in beige jumpsuits, air masks covering their faces burst out from behind them. Sasuke used his momentum and pushed against a large branch, hurling himself from the front of the group to the back. His _**Sharingan**_ ablaze, he attacked head on. Something the Ame nin weren't expecting. It appeared they were only prepared to play cat and mouse. Sasuke struck the first one with a quick blow to the head, his body plummeting from the air to the ground. The second and third Ame nins went down just as fast. Being knocked unconscious after only a few hits.

Sasuke landing next to the bodies of the KO'ed shinobi. '_Pathetic._' Sasuke shook his head in pity, rummaging around in each of their ninja pouches. Looking for their scroll. None of them were holding it. _'They must have hidden it somewhere.'_

Sakura and Mito soon landed next to him. Sasuke began tying one of them up. "What are you doing?" Mito looked on confused, why he was only tying one of them up.

"Interrogating." Sasuke reply. Quickly waking up the tied shinobi with a sharp kick to the stomach. The shinobi woke up coughing and wheezing.

"Where is your scroll?" Sasuke quickly asked. Looking down at the bound Genin.

"Why would I tell you?" The ninja replied looking up through his long brown bangs.

"You don't have a choice." Sasuke returned, slowly taking a Kunai from his back pocket and spinning it on his finger. "If you don't tell me, I'll cut your fingers off."

The sentence visibly startled everyone who was still conscious. "S-Sasuke-kun, you wouldn't really would you?" Sakura stuttered out with heavy breaths, the words choking in her throat.

"Yeah, you wouldn't dare." The Ame nin laughed weakly. This kid wouldn't have the stomach.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. Bending down and grabbing the boys left had made one quick cut through his index finger, blood squirted out of the lost digit. The boy cried out in pain. Sasuke stared at him impassively. Moving to his middle finger. "Are you going to tell me now?"

The boy only whimpered. The pain was excruciating, but he shook his head defiantly. Sasuke made another clean cut through his middle finger. The boy howled out in pain again. "Okay, okay!" The boy sobbed out. "We left the scroll buried under a tree 27 metres south-south west of here, you will see a man made marking."

**-Break-**

Sasuke blinked. He had never used a Genjutsu of that calibre before, especially not on an unconscious victim. He didn't have a clue what the consequences would have been. But it was surprisingly easy, there was no resistance to his Genjutsu. Although the information was a little bit fuzzy.

But it was still clear enough to get the information he wanted, perhaps this was the best way, knock out the opponent first and with more training, he could be able to explore there minds without any resistence.

"They left their scroll south of here. I know where it is." Sasuke told Sakura and Mito, who were both staring at the bound Ame nin. Sasuke quickly tied up the other two and hid them from view. Before taking off south towards the scroll. Sakura and Mito soon followed after him.

-Break-

_'There's another one.'_ Naruto though to himself, placing another Earth scroll into his pocket. He looked down at the floored Kumo team, they put up a better fight, and he thought that they expected him to be worn out, were they in for a shock.

_'Three Earth scrolls and one Heaven. Lets see if I can even that number up. After all there's another 22 scrolls still out there.'_ Naruto left the Kumo team in the dirt, continuing on his prowl of his forest. He was definitely the worst thing for the Genins to fear in this forest.

_'I wonder what would happen if I took all the scrolls. Would they let everyone move on, or would I be promoted to Jonin?'_ Naruto mused this idea over his head. Yes he would like to be a Jonin, there were things he was still restricted from that Jonins weren't, despite being the son of the Hokage. Plus Jonins had more freedom, they could take longer missions, he could search for Teihaku without interruption.

ANBU soon arrived, they took the unconscious bodies of the losers away, so they wouldn't be injured or kill by any of the wild animals that roamed the forest. Naruto turned as one of the ANBU approached him. "You're making quick work of all the teams Naruto-sama. Make sure some are left." The voice was dull and feminine. "Have you seen Konoha teams yet?"

"I have, that was the second team I took down. I haven't found the three rookie teams yet. And I'm actually looking for them. I want to test their strengths." Naruto returned in a dull voice as well. When the Kyuubi had told him it can monitor negative emotions, he made sure that his emotions kept in check, he didn't need to give it anymore control than it already had.

The ANBU nodded, quickly departed with the unconscious Genin in a _**Shunshin**_. Naruto turned back around and continued on. This was getting a bit boring, sure being outnumbered constantly was good training. But he hadn't needed to use any of his Ninjutsu yet. _'Where is my decent challenge?'_

**-Break-**

"Come Sasuke-kun, are you planning to fight me now?" The slithery Orochimaru spoke delighted. Staring at the young Uchiha.

Sasuke's resolve hardened. He paralysed in fear moments ago under this man's killer intent. But he remembered that day years ago. Itachi's was so much worse. This Orochimaru said that Itachi had once defeated him, so Sasuke would as well. Bringing himself closer to Itachi's level. He placed the Heaven scroll he recently offered back into his pocket, there was no way he was going to back down.

"Sakura, Mito, I need you to stay back." He said to the two of them, both shaking heavily at the man's killing intent. "I'll take care of this."

Sakura could only nod in acceptance. But Mito had more to say. "Sasuke, be smart, we need to get out of here."

"I can't, he'll follow us. I need to take him down here." Sasuke returned to her.

"Ah, so you've decided to die then," the older ninja teased. His Kusa headband reflecting what little light there was. "Very well, I'll just kill you and take your scroll."

Sasuke gritted his teeth in preparation for the fight. He, Mito and Sakura both had seen the grass nin swallow the Earth scroll that their team needed earlier. _'Somehow I need to get that from him.'_

Sasuke naturally relaxed into his fighting stance while his eyes locked onto his opponent.

The grass nin gave one quick smirk before he charged the Uchiha. He dashed forward quickly as he weaved left and right, slithering while he went.

Sasuke's eyes darted slightly to the left and then to the right. His eyes were able to see his movements clearly as he approached him. It seemed that the man was before him in an instant with his right arm drawn back, ready to deliver a powerful punch to Sasuke's face.

Sasuke rolled to his right as he narrowly avoided the assault while he grabbed onto the man's extended arm and holding him in place, giving him one quick knee thrust to the nin's stomach.

The grass nin did a back flip to avoid Sasuke's attack, but he was met with a barrage of shuriken. He dodged them easily, but then he was surprised when the Uchiha pulled on the strings that were attached the shuriken, making them double back on his opponent. He was hoping to wrap him up in ninja wire.

The grass nin crouched extremely low to the branch and began to slither his way towards the nin, making sure to go underneath the wires.

Sasuke was able to see that his attack was pointless now that the nin ducked beneath his attack. He quickly let go of his wires and produced two kunai, one in each hand.

The older nin was in front of Sasuke in a blink of an eye, but the raven-haired shinobi was able to keep up with his Sharingan. Their fight soon escalated to a Taijutsu only match that lasted for several minutes.

Sasuke dodged the initial swipe that the older nin made with his hand. He countered by trying to go for his exposed throat. The grass nin saw the incoming attack and ducked to avoid the kunai in the boy's hand.

Sasuke was able to see the incoming punches and kicks and avoided them well enough, knowing full well he didn't posses the strength to stop them. He then would counter with precision swipes with the kunai in his hands, but he never even scratched the ninja.

It was when his opponent gave a roundhouse kick that Sasuke crouched low to avoid it while quickly placing both kunai in his right hand. Then, suddenly, his left hand reached back into his back pouch to grab something before it was too late. He had a plan.

The Kusa nin saw this as an opportunity and threw a quick punch with his right hand.

Sasuke withdrew his left hand and manoeuvred it around the incoming fist before he grabbed his wrist. He then followed it up with a quick kick in the chest. However, the Uchiha placed chakra into his foot so that it would stick to the man's chest.

Naturally the Kusa shinobi moved his left hand to grab the foot that was sticking to his chest so that he could remove it, but Sasuke's other foot landed on his left forearm, preventing him from moving his entire left arm.

Sasuke smiled. His left hand was holding his opponent's wrist on his right hand, his left foot was on his opponent's chest, and his right foot was on his opponents left forearm. His opponent was helpless.

In one quick, fluid motion he threw the two kunai that was in his right hand at the Nin's exposed and unprotected head.

The older Nin's eyes went wide in surprise before he unnaturally bent his head backwards to dodge.

Sasuke saw it and cringed. He knew that his head bent farther back than it should have for a normal person. _'This guy…he's a monster!'_

When the Kusa nin's head jolted back to its normal position, it held an odd smile. I large pointed tongue slithered out between his lips, licking both quickly. "Impressive!"

Sasuke quickly placed a large amount of chakra into his left foot so that he could propel himself off of his enemy. It worked as Sasuke soared back a small distance, giving himself much needed space.

His opponent also slid back a few yards, leaving a small footprint indention on his chest. The Kusa nin's hands went up to his chest to nurse it. "Quite impressive."

Sasuke didn't wait too long before he set off the explosive tag that he had stuck onto his enemy's wrist when he had grabbed it earlier from his pouch.

"AHH," The older nin was caught off guard as the explosive tag went off on his right arm. Naturally the nin was stunned as he staggered about for a few seconds. He also temporarily lost track of the younger nin. _'Clever boy! He has so much potential!'_

Sasuke somehow knew that wouldn't do the trick so he wasted no time as he jumped high up in the air and went through his familiar hand signs.

"_**Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!**_" A massive fireball erupted from his mouth as he brought up his right hand to guide it. He watched it race downwards towards the stunned shinobi as he still flew through the air.

His opponent smirked as he dashed suddenly to his left. He moved quickly, much quicker than Sasuke had anticipated, and began to slither around the trees and branches, very much like a snake.

Sasuke landed and then quickly jumped again, narrowly avoiding an incoming assault from his opponent.

His enemy stopped abruptly and jumped after Sasuke. He quickly caught up and appeared slightly below him. "Is that all you got?" he taunted.

Sasuke hid his fear behind a smile. "I'm just getting started." But that was far from the truth as he was already starting to feel tired.

He then twirled his body so that his feet landed underneath a branch and that he could propel himself back down towards the older nin. His right hand was drawn back, ready to deliver a powerful punch.

His enemy was nowhere near surprised by the Uchiha's frontal attack. He reached out and grabbed the punch with one hand, and placed the other on his chest. He then tossed him over his shoulders.

The Uchiha wasted no time while turning around as he went through several hand signs, ready to deliver another jutsu. Unfortunately he was caught off guard when a pair of shuriken was sent towards him. He opted to dodge and abandon his jutsu instead of casting it.

Before he could think of his next step, his enemy raced towards him again. Sasuke immediately jumped to another tree, and then another when he saw that he was being pursued.

"Trying to run won't help you," A loud, taunting voice yelled out from behind him.

The raven-haired shinobi knew he had to think of something quickly. He needed a trap.

When he was about to land on the next branch, he quickly took some wire and looped it around a smaller branch that was sticking out. He held on tight as the wire took hold, making the Uchiha circle around the small tree branch which helped him change his direction.

The Kusa nin continued onward. He looked down at the new direction the Uchiha was heading. After landing gracefully on the next tree, he leapt after him so he could continue putting pressure on the young nin.

Sasuke quickly disappeared behind tree and started running up it. He was parallel to the ground as he continued his upward ascension. He was hoping to lose his opponent for a few seconds so he could think of a proper plan. He also took in a deep breath to control his breathing. _'I don't know how much longer I can keep this up.'_

He thought of a plan as fast as he could, but it required him to go on the offensive.

A few seconds later he was sure that his enemy would follow, but he never did. He looked down where he was supposed to have followed, but he never showed. '_Where did he-'_

His train of thought was disrupted by several kunai that landed near and all around him. He twisted out of the way and launched himself into the air. He went through several hand signs.

"_**Fire Release: Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique!**_" A series of small fireballs sped off towards the grass nin he found hiding above him.

His opponent emitted a strong gust of wind to cancel the fire jutsu, but was caught off guard when kunai were still converging towards him. He took out a kunai so that he could to deflect them.

Sasuke landed and pushed himself off again towards his opponent. He held a single kunai in his right hand.

The grass nin deflected the last of the kunai when he was tackled off the tree by his prey. He felt a sharp pain in his rips as he and his prey began falling towards the ground. He looked down to see a kunai sticking out from his chest and silently cursed.

Sasuke went about wrapping his opponent up as fast as he could with wire before launching himself away from him.

The grass nin continued his decent before he abruptly stopped. The ninja wire held him up securely.

Sasuke stood on a branch with wires in his hands and mouth. They were holding up the wrapped up nin that was still dangling helplessly in the air. The then tied them to the tree he was on and jumped back off the branch so he could see his trapped enemy.

His opponent tried to move, but he was wrapped up tightly like a cocoon.

Soon Sasuke was on a nearby branch as he looked at the nin. He still had one wire still in his mouth that led directly to him. He knew that the man wasn't getting out of this one because the wires were wrapped tightly around his entire body. He was surprised the man could even wiggle a finger.

He genuinely smiled for once as he quickly went through the ending jutsu. He then breathed in deeply.

"_**Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Projectile Technique!**_" A massive jet of flame erupted from his mouth as it streamed along the wire.

The trapped nin was engulfed in flames. His screams of agony filled the section of the forest where they battled. Mito and Sakura saw the flames from where they sat away from the fight.

Sasuke kept it up as long as he could, putting as much chakra into it as he could. Finally, he released the jutsu. He let the wire fall from his mouth as he took the time to catch up on his breathing. It had been a long and difficult fight, but it was over now. Hanging like cocoon, his opponent was still on fire, but he was dead now. _'I did it!'_

He was panting hard and fell to one knee. He then deactivated his prized Doujutsu.

Sakura had remained at a distance during the duration of the fight. The entire time she wished she could help Sasuke in any way, but she knew she would just be a burden. She wasn't strong enough yet to do anything, but she was hoping to change that soon.

It wasn't until she saw the massive fire jutsu in the distance that she realized that Sasuke had won. Granted she missed some of the fight because of how far away the two fighters had moved, but she still knew the outcome.

Mito stared in admiration at Sasuke. She knew he was strong, and they didn't know the strength of this Orochimaru guy. But Sasuke had managed to defeat him anyways.

They began heading over towards Sasuke and the burning corpse of his opponent together..

Sasuke looked at the burning corpse in satisfaction, the fires died down on his skin. His skin wasn't charred or burned, it looked like clay. His opponents body began melting, dropping down to the floor. His eyes went wide. _'A Clone! When did he have time to…?'_

He turned around to scan the area and saw Sakura and Mito approaching him. "Sakura, Mito get back!"

Immediately after he warned her, several shuriken began cutting into the Uchiha. He jumped back.

He assessed the damage and realized that his left arm had a few minor scratches, but nothing serious.

The raven-haired shinobi looked up to see the strange nin emerge from a tree.

"You surpass all my expectations, Sasuke-kun. You are definitely _his_ brother." He was now fully emerged from the tree as he stood parallel to the ground. "In fact, I say that your eyes hold more potential than Itachi's."

Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger, "Who are you, Orochimaru?"

"I've decided that I want you, Sasuke." He smiled.

The Uchiha didn't know what to do. He was already exhausted from all the fighting from before, and he was also running out of options.

He was about to jump into action, but his body froze. _'What is this?' _His body refused to respond. He was paralysed.

"I am the one you will seek out Sasuke-kun. You will come looking for my power." Orochimaru's head and neck stretched out and then raced rapidly towards the Uchiha with his mouth open and fangs at the ready.

They sunk into Sasuke's neck. Sasuke's head throbbed in pain, he was being injected with something, he numbed his body completely. The older nin released his grip on Sasuke's neck, his own neck retracting back to his body. "A parting gift Sasuke-kun. Use it well."

Sakura and Mito raced towards Sasuke. Catching him as he collapsed, the black tomoe were present on his neck next to the bite marks.

"Now what to do with you two." The man's coy voice caught their attentions. Looking up they saw him smirking at them. Their bodies froze once again, they were just like Sasuke at the moment, but just awake.

"Mito-chan. Well, well, well. I couldn't recognise you from a distance." The man chuckled, scaring Mito witless.

"H-H-How do you know my name?" Mito was panicking.

"Once upon a time, I was from Konoha. Don't you recognise me Mito, I shouldn't be surprised. You were only a baby." The man's eye narrowed, a sick smile on his face. His skin had melted, underneath the first set of pink skin was pale skin, purple markings around the visible eye, complete with a deathly yellow slitted pupil. The man reached up, tearing of the first layer of skin. His full pale skinned face now completely revealed. "How about now?"

Mito didn't move at all. She didn't know who this guy was. Ashamed of herself for thinking this, but she wanted to get away. She wasn't like her brother or her father, she was weaker. They never panicked or ran away from a fight, but she constantly froze up in the face of danger.

"No?" The man sounded hurt. "I was sure that Jiraiya or Minato would have spoken about me, seeing as I'm Jiraiya's teammate and I was originally the top candidate for Yondaime Hokage."

"That's a lie!" Mito shouted. "You're nothing like Jiraiya! There's no way he could be your teammate!"

"Believe what you want. But Jiraiya and I both studied under the Sandaime Hokage together. We're not really friends anymore though. But back to my first question. What to do with you two? Neither of you have any use to me, so should I just kill you both?" Orochimaru smiled as he contemplated.

"Well, the pink haired one certainly has no use to me. But you Mito-chan. If you acquire your mother's chakra. You could become very valuable to me. I may have to fight you as well. Just to make sure if you have received them." Orochimaru released another wave of killing intent at the two of them.

Mito acted instinctively. He said he would always protect her. She needed his protection. She took out the summoning scroll, swiping a drop of blood over it. "_**Summoning: Brother!**_"

A puff of smoke came out of the scroll, in the middle stood Naruto, looking confused. He saw Mito and her pink teammate sitting down, the Uchiha in their arms. "Mito. I warned you not to come near me. Now I'll take your scroll."

Mito shakingly pointed to behind him. "Naru-nii! He bit Sasuke! He said he's from Konoha!" She sounded like she was close to breaking down. Naruto turned around, instantly his eyes widened. He recognised the man instantly. "Orochimaru."

"Naruto-kun. I surprised to see Konoha's Jinchuuriki here as well. What a pleasant surprise. We were just catching up, your sister and I." Orochimaru snickered slightly.

_'Jinchuuriki? What's that? And why does the name sound familiar?'_ Sakura thought in her head. It wasn't the most important thing happening, but it was worth noting.

"Mito. Take your teammates and get out of here." Naruto's voice hardened, he slunk into a battle position, hands ready to draw weapons.

"B-But, what about-"

"That's an order!" Naruto shouted. "As your superior in rank and in age you will obey it. Take your teammates and run. When your far enough summon me to your location. Then get to the tower in the centre of the forest quickly. Dad's there, report to him that Orochimaru is in the forest."

Mito seemed hesitant to go, but Orochimaru suddenly appeared in front of them, kunai he had picked up from his previous battle with Sasuke in his hand, lunging it towards her.

Naruto appeared between them, a kunai being used to block the other. "Go! I'll hold him off!" His voice sounded like he was struggling. She would be a burden if she stayed, she nodded affirmatively, hoisting Sasuke onto her back and taking off with Sakura.

Naruto kicked the older ninja back. The man landed gracefully a few metres away.

"An interesting technique there Naruto-kun. Summoning living humans, quite impressive, seeing as humans have the will power and strength to withhold such an act. Did your parents create that technique?" Orochimaru quizzed him.

"No. I did." Naruto stood back up straight, staring down his opponent. 'He looks like he had just had a hard battle. But will I be able to beat him. He is stronger than me, and much more experienced."

"Then you take after your parents, Naruto-kun. It doesn't surprise me though, learning impossible jutsu, such as instant teleportation without any signals, or avoiding death. You do look just like him." Orochimaru mused, the boy's hair was almost identical to his.

"I get that a lot. Apparently I'm the spitting image of my father." Naruto smirked. _'Avoiding death?'_

"Not your father, Naruto-kun." Orochimaru giggled softly, under his breath. " Your brother. Teihaku."

Orochimaru laughed at the boy's reaction. Eyes widening in shock.

"How do you know Teihaku?" Naruto asked in a raspy voice.

"Well, I trained him after all. Such a strong boy he was. Never afraid of anything, not like your sister, quivering all the time while her teammate fought to the death." Orochimaru tried insulting Naruto's sister. But it appeared Naruto completely ignored the comments made about Mito.

"Why tell me this? Chunin from Konoha are told of you instantly after promotion. Telling me this will only fuel my father's attacks against you. He will track you down and kill you." Naruto explained.

"Yes, but you won't tell him that, will you?" Orochimaru chuckled softly. "I've head the rumours, of how the Yondaime Hokage forbade anybody telling you of Teihaku's existence. Such a shame, you can't tell the Yondaime without him just denying that what I tell you is lies."

Naruto was silenced, he stared at the snake man. "Where is my brother?"

Orochimaru only shrugged his shoulders, smiling as he did so. "Who knows. He betrayed me and ran away."

"My brother is no traitor!" Naruto's fury escalated, all his talk of keeping his emotions in check were useless. He had never been so close to finding his brother, he wouldn't let the opportunity slip.

"You're chakra is much more ferocious than Sasuke-kun's." Orochimaru continued his chuckling, licking his lips slightly. "I won't hold back like I did against Sasuke-kun. If I hadn't he'd be dead."

Orochimaru's chakra flared. The amount he possessed tripled. It was potent as well. Naruto quickly went through a string of hand seals.

"_**Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!**_" Small bullets of wind, shot out of Naruto's mouth, heading towards Orochimaru, leaving no chance of escape.

Orochimaru didn't make an attempt to. _'Amazing. At how freely he allows his emotions to control him. Considering Jinchuuriki are taught to control their emotions.'_ Speeding through his own hands seals he performed a Jutsu of his own. "_**Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!**_" The sudden gust of wind countered the bullets of wind coming towards him, cancelling them out.

Naruto appeared in front of him. Naruto's eyes wide in rage. His fist connected to the unprepared Orochimaru, hurling him back, forcing him through several punches.

Orochimaru winced as his back connected with a branch. _'He's faster than Sasuke. And he is much __stronger too. A shame that he is of no use to me.'_

Orochimaru couldn't think any longer, Naruto's foot connected to his stomach in the form of a leg drop. Orochimaru plummeted to the floor. _'I can't toy with this one. I won't risk releasing the Kyuubi.'_ Orochimaru smirked, grabbing Naruto's neck and leg reversed the position.

Naruto's head connected first to the large branch underneath them, the impact increasing with Orochimaru's added weight.

No time was wasted. Pouring chakra into his muscles like Tsunade had shown him all those years ago, he quickly grabbed Naruto by his legs and swung him around. The young boy connecting with the trunk of the tree, snapping straight through it, it wasn't as perfect as Tsunade. He simply didn't have the control.

He tossed the boy far, who landed against the trunk of another tree. _'I must kill him now._' His mouth shot open, a snake slithered out and opened it's own mouth, the tip of a sword came out followed by the blade and hilt. Orochimaru took the blade and before the boy could react, thrust it threw his shoulder.

Naruto cried out in pain. _'H-How can I be defeated so easily.'_ Orochimaru twisted the blade a full 360 degrees in is chest. Naruto could feel every movement. He cried loudly, roaring in agony.

"It would be better to get rid of a nuisance like you now while you're still weak." Orochimaru chuckled again. Twisting the blade a bit more.

Poof.

He disappeared in a puff of smoke. Leaving Orochimaru alone, his blade still sticking into the tree and a pool of blood where Naruto once sat. He knew what had happened.

"Mito."

**-Break-**

Sakura and Mito stared at Lee's unconscious body, then at Team 10. Both had come to their rescue. Sakura opted to battle while Mito protected Sasuke. She received a beating, cutting her own her off as well. Lee jumped in gallantly. She understood what Naruto meant about him now. He was defeated, but she couldn't keep her eyes on him. He performed some drilling Jutsu that was ineffective to two a combination of the Sound boys.

Team 10 came next, protecting them and knocking out the girl of the Oto team. They made a good team, they were organised. But the Oto boy with tubes in his hand was ruthless, he attacked his own team and knocked Ino out through it.

"You see, we're not your average Genin." The one called Zaku mocked.

"Enough Zaku, we can take these lot on together. Remember our objective." The mummified boy spoke through the bandages covering his mouth.

Mito needed help, once again. _'I'm sorry I couldn't get further away.'_ A tear left her eye as she pulled out the summoning scroll again. "_**Summoning: Brother!**_"

Naruto flew out of the scroll. His body lay weakly on the floor, the Konoha and Oto Genin looked at his battered and bruised form. A pool of blood growing around his upper body. Naruto shifted off his shoulder and onto his back. Mito screamed in horror.

She had never seen Naruto wounded like that. The hole in his chest was big. She ran towards him, pressing her hands down on the wound, it wasn't much good. As the wound was a puncture.

Zaku laughed maniacally. "Is that your secret weapon!"

Mito ignored him, choking back the tears in her eyes. "Naru-nii. Are you alright?"

"No." He moaned out quietly. "There's a large hole in my chest, Mito."

Mito chuckled a little bit, he had tried to sound sarcastic. He moved her hands from his chest and slowly stood up without help, it took a lot of struggling, but he was on his feet.

The wound in his chest began healing at an alarming rate, shocking everyone who could see. Soon not even a scar was visible.

Naruto stared at the Oto headbands. _'Orochimaru's village.'_ He recognised the symbol. "I have some questions for you." He pointed to the two awake Oto Genin.

"You won't take all three of us alive." Zaku yelled in return.

Naruto smirked, wiping the blood from his mouth. "That's good. Because I only need one of you." He drew his sword slowly, so the screeching sound could be heard, releasing a drop of killing intent with it.

But it was masked by an explosion of chakra. Everyone turned to Sasuke. Red flame tattoos shrouded his body, visible through the purple swirls that surrounded him. The purple faded, and the tattoos changed from red to black. Sasuke's _**Sharingan**_ eyes darted around, seeing Lee battered, Sakura bruised and pools of blood.

"Who did this?" His voice was unstable.

Zaku scoffed. "I did. What are you gonna do about it?"

Sasuke disappeared, reappearing in front of Zaku, he delivered a gut busting knee to his stomach, quickly spinning around him grabbing both his arms, thrust his foot in between the boys shoulder blades. Pinning him down.

"Don't be to proud of what your arms accomplished." Sasuke's face held a sadistic smile, pulling the boy's arms back. Waiting for the snap.

And there it was. The boy's arms pulled out unnaturally far. The boy fell to the floor, fainting from shock. Sasuke turned to the mummified boy, who panicked.

_'I need to do something.'_ Naruto thought. He needed at least one of them. Naruto dove in between Sasuke and the boy. _'Give me your chakra.'_ Naruto's eyes flashed red. Manifesting the Kyuubi's killing intent in his own eyes. It was too much even for Sasuke's new form. Sasuke's eyes closed shut, and he soon fell back into unconsciousness.

Naruto sighed, all this had exhausted him. He turned around to the bandaged boy. He startled a bit.

He took out his Earth scroll. "I'll leave you this, in exchange for letting us go. Zaku needs medical attention now." He proposed.

Naruto glared at him. "Fine. But this isn't over yet."

The boy moved and picked up his two teammates before taking off in any direction. Naruto moved forwards and picked up the Earth scroll. He turned to Team 10. "What scroll do you have?" He asked dully.

"A Heaven scroll." Shikamaru replied in an interested tone, something that surprised the others. Naruto quickly threw him the Earth scroll Dosu left behind. "Thank you. For keeping my sister safe."

Shikamaru gave a small smile, holding the Earth scroll up. "Don't mention it."

"Lee!" A girl with brown hair tied up into buns jumped down, followed by a boy with long dark brown hair and white eyes like Hinata. She picked up the green clad boy, who lifted his head to give a weak grin.

"Lee. What scroll do you need." Naruto looked at him. "You protected my sister as well."

"I do not need a reward for protecting my comrades, Naruto-kun. Their safety is reward enough." Lee gave a thumbs up.

Naruto smiled back at him. "I should have guessed."

"We don't need it anyway." Lee's male teammate spoke coldly. "We already have both of ours. When you didn't show up we got worried."

"I thank you for your concern Neji. Sakura-san, Mito-san, I apologise for not defending to the greatest extent. But the lotus of the leaf blooms twice, when you next see me. I will be stronger." Lee gave a classic nice guy pose to the two of them. He left with his teammates, who carried him. Team 10 left soon after, having no need to stay any longer in the forest.

"Mito." Naruto spoke weakly. Mito turned to her brother. "Can you help me? I don't think I can walk to the tower." He had lost a lot of blood, he was exhausted.

"Er... sure." Mito replied, hooking her brother's arm around her neck. Sakura dragging Sasuke behind them. They made their way to the tower. "Shouldn't you continue collecting scrolls?"

"Not now. Besides I've collected nine scrolls. So only seven teams will advance anyway." Naruto replied.

"We have our two scrolls. So we're safe." Mito told him.

Naruto chuckled weakly. "Good." His eyes closed, drifting into a slumber.

**-Break-**

Minato waited at the entrance to the tower. Greeting the teams that passed the second exam. Teams 8 and 10 had already entered, along with Guy's team. But where was Mito's team.

The door opened again. Minato turned quickly. Four figures hobbled in. Two walking, two being dragged. All looked badly beaten, especially the ones being dragged.

It was a new sight for Minato. He had never seen Naruto so badly beaten up before. He rushed over to the group, calling for medical attention immediately. He took Naruto's weight off of Mito, holding him up.

"Naruto, what happened?" His voice was anything but calm, concern was written across his face.

Naruto's looked up, his eyes barely open. His voice was quiet and raspy, but he still managed to get the crucial information out. "Orochimaru."

* * *

**A/N**: Well, how was it? Read and Review as always. Before we even go any further, I have to give credit where dredit is due. The Sasuke/Orochimaru fight scene is of Bestifreplaced's creation. It has only been heavily borrowed and modified to fight my story. If you want to the original fight scene go to Faded Dreams by Bestifreplcaed, easily the best Rinnegan Naruto fic on this site. Again props to Bestifreplaced.

But continiuing, alot of things could have been done differently. If I get the urge, I will go back over this chapter and redo certain aspects of it. But I'll see how it sits with everyone first.

Mito as a person. She's very much the goofball that is missing from the Manga, but without the stupidity, she doesn't charge in when she knows it's impossible, and she has got the brave flair that her family has. She will get it. But not for a while.

Next chapter update. Well I want to apply for Betaism, so I need to upload a fifth story. Probably a Konoha high fic or Fairy Tail/Crossover. I want to develop Becoming The Legend more so that's high on my list. And February is my month of birth, so I might take a month long Hiatus then, just a little R&R you know. So expect an late January or an early March release. Seeing as I am now in full accordance with my writer's law. I don't have to write any more this month. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. sorry. If I don't take said Hiatus, expect a February release.

Remember to vote in my poll :)

Till next time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!


	15. Chapter 12: Examinations

**A/N:** Yo! Rinne here! Well as promised another chapter for A Complete Family, Incomplete. Wow, I've hit the 100'000 word mark, that's pretty impressive. This chapter deals with the Preliminaries. Ummm...not much I can say now. So I'll see you in however long it takes to read this chapter.

* * *

Naruto sat in the infirmary waiting for his dad, there was no windows or no clock, so he couldn't tell how long he had been asleep. Minato had made Naruto stay in the infirmary to make sure he was well rested, he could only assume that it was so he was able to answer all of Minato's questions well.

Minato arrived, unsurprisingly with Jiraiya. The old man was always looking for any information on what Orochimaru was doing, even if it was as small as what Orochimaru had for dinner last Friday, he would want to know it. Naruto knew right away that with his presence, he wasn't getting out of this easily.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Minato asked, concerned for his son's well being.

"Shall we just skip straight to Orochimaru." Naruto looked to the both of them.

"What happened?" Jiraiya asked sternly to him.

"Well Orochimaru was in the forest during the exam, according to Mito, he was posing as a Kusa Genin. He attacked Mito's team and he bit Sasuke and a seal appeared. When I battled him, he seemed in a hurry to get away." Naruto explained to the two of them, leaving out the small detail of Orochimaru being Teihaku's sensei.

"A seal. We'll have to take a at that Minato." Jiraiya looked over to his student, who nodded.

"I agree, we might need Kakashi as well when we go to see Sasuke." Minato concurred.

"What's happening downstairs?" Naruto butted in, he needed to know if the third exam has begun.

Minato smiled. "7 teams have made it in, but it's only the third day. We'll see how many more come."

"Did you check the number of scrolls I collected." Naruto asked.

Minato nodded. "There are still two more scrolls out there."

Naruto sat puzzled for a minute, but he remembered something. "Mito mentioned that Orochimaru destroyed two of the scrolls as well."

Minato's brow rose. "Really? I guess that means all the teams that have passed are through. The second stage is over. I will go announce it." Minato quickly turned to leave the room.

Jiraiya followed him out, trying to catch up with the fast walking Hokage. "Minato."

"There's something he's not telling us, sensei. You can see it in his face, he's trying to cover something up." Minato explained, looking hard at the corridor ahead.

"But what could he be hiding?" Jiraiya asked, now caught up with the Hokage.

Minato stopped walking, standing completely still. "I don't know. I barely know Naruto at all, a lot less than I thought I did. Orochimaru might have done something, but Naruto isn't one to back away from a fight. He would have attacked Orochimaru in a rage if he told him something awful, no matter how much I tell him he needs to control his emotions as a shinobi should."

"But what could Orochimaru had told him that would set him off into a rage?" Jiraiya asked again.

"Orochimaru was never one to play by the rules. I have a hunch at what he told Naruto." Minato, looked down to the floor. He and Kushina had been dreading the day they had to tell them, but knew it would be coming soon.

-Break-

Naruto looked over from the balcony, after sneaking out to come watch the fights. Mito stood in single file with her team, as did the rest of the teams that had passed.

He was surprised that 21 people had passed the second stage. These were obviously the best of the Genin batch this year. His gaze drifted over to Mito's form. _'Or just the luckiest.'_

"As there are so many of contestants still in the competition this exam." Minato began, standing in front of Genin. "We will be having a preliminary knock out round now to reduce the numbers for the final event."

Minato gave the opportunity for all the Genin for one last drop out. A tall grey-haired Genin dressed in purple took this opportunity, apologising for dropping out.

_'But there isn't a single scratch on him?'_ Naruto watched the Genin leave the stadium, something was strange about that one.

"The fights will be chosen randomly by the screen above." A screen revealed itself from behind the wall." The names begin flashing quickly on the screen, faster than anyone could track.

_Kiba Inuzuka_

_VS._

_Rock Lee_

Lee was instantly pumped shouting to his sensei of how his youth had allowed him to battle first. Minato had asked everyone but Kiba and Lee to evacuate the battlefield.

Naruto looked at the two standing combatants. He did have a second thought in his mind. _'Lee will win.' _He was right. This Kiba he had met before was faster, and transforming his puppy into a clone of him he tried to outnumber Lee.

But Lee was still just too fast. Their attacks not coming anywhere near Lee, and Lee hadn't even begun to use any of his secret weapons yet. Lee congratulated Kiba on his hard work, beginning a short speech on the value of hard work, before promptly delivering a swift punch to both of the Kiba's heads.

_

* * *

Hinata Hyuuga_

_VS._

_Choji Akimichi_

This match was surprising to Naruto. He had met Hinata many times, she never seemed like the fighting type. But after she used her opponents abilities to expand himself to her advantage, making it easier for her to target his Chakra points to take the win for herself. Naruto had a feeling that he might need to keep an eye on her.

Everyone turned to the screen once again, waiting for the next match up.

_

* * *

Neji Hyuuga _

_VS._

_Misumi Tsurugi_

_'Another Hyuuga. Is this the brother Hinata spoke of that time?'_ Naruto looked down at the fight, and he was shocked at what he saw.

Whoever this Neji was, he was nothing like Hinata or his teammate Lee. He was cold, he taunted his opponent openly before the match began.

The his opponent, Misumi showed his ability.. Dislocating the joints of his body and continuing to control his movements with Chakra, he coiled his body around Neji, threatening to snap his spine.

Neji stood still, glaring with his Byakugan eyes. He used the same attacks as Hinata, but Naruto could tell his were much more fierce, much more power behind them, even though he was restricted, his wrists were still able to move. He jabbed several locations on his opponent. Audible cracks were heard and Misumi collapsed off of Neji, his body didn't retort back to normal. Medics arrived and performed their quick diagnosis.

Whether it was intentional or if Neji knew it would happen was uncertain, but the Gentle Fist still had disrupted Misumi's Chakra flow, effectively locking Misumi's joints in the position they were in, including Misumi's twisted spine and extended neck. He had died.

Neji only looked at the contorted corpse coldly. Deactivating his Byakugan and walking towards the staircase. Naruto looked over to Lee's team, Guy shaking his head in disappointment. Watching the medics moving the corpse off the field.

The matches didn't stop to mourn his loss, moving right on to the next one.

_

* * *

Tenten_

_VS._

_Temari_

Lee's other teammate against Gaara's sister. It was over pretty quickly, Tenten using wave after wave against Temari who deflected them all with a swing of her fan, then summoning a blast of wind to slam her opponent into a wall effectively knocking her out.

_

* * *

Kin Tsuchi_

_VS._

_Shikamaru Nara_

Another quick match, it wasn't as flashy as previous matches, a very slow tempo to it, But Shikamaru managed to get the job done. Using his opponent's inattentiveness to his advantage. Trapping her in his Shadow Possession Technique and making her knock herself out. _'After not realising that the strings had a shadow, she deserved to lose.'_ Naruto thought in his head, turning to the screen once again.

_

* * *

Zaku Abumi_

_VS._

_Mito Namikaze_

-Break-

Mito stared out her opponent._ 'He seriously expects to fight with both his arms in bandages. I won't go easy on him though.'_

The boy grinned at her. The proctor, Hayate Gecko wheezed out the order to begin.

_'I haven't had much time practising, and I can't do it as well as mom yet, but two should be enough!'_ Mito clasped her hands together, paralysed with fear in the presence of Orochimaru, she forgot about this technique. Her mom had showed her that she had inherited it from her.

The boy moved his arms, taking them both out of the slings. "I'll end this quickly!" He shouted pointing his palms towards her.

Mito ducked to the ground, slamming her palms onto the floor "_**Secret Art: Underworld Chain Deliverance!**_"

She could feel her chakra leaving her body, draining from her palms into the ground, she looked up. The two chains shot out of the Earth, grabbing hold of the boys wrists and pulling them to the sides. The boy now stood with his arms wide, trying to struggle to break free.

Mito retracted the Chakra causing the chains to drag Zaku into the floor, now lying on his back, tightly pressed against the floor.

Mito stood up, she began walking towards Zaku, the chains cutting through the ground like butter. It was an added effect to them because of her Earth nature, according to her mom, proven when her mom showed her her own chains, Mito could feel the unfathomable heat coming from them, her mom's Fire nature manifesting itself. She could make them harder than the sturdiest mountains, or as soft as quick sand.

She stood above Zaku, but far enough that the chains were still underground, keeping the boy in place, she place her foot of his throat and pushed down slightly. Hayate quickly jumped in. "Mito Namikaze wins as a result of successfully subduing her opponent."

Mito smiled at the coughing man, relinquishing everything she had on Zaku, and began walking away.

-Break-

Naruto watched Mito walk away from her defeated opponent, who was apparently a sore loser, he tried to attack Mito with her back turned, but was quickly knocked out by the Jonin proctor standing next to him.

_'So she inherited mom's Chakra ability. I guess she might actually make it.' _Unlike Mito, Naruto had not inherited the chakra chains. According to his mom, The Kyuubi might have blocked the development of that chakra ability to give it's self more freedom within him. _'I wonder though, did he inherit it as well?'_

The screen flickered on again, everyone turning to find out who would be fighting next.

_

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha_

_VS._

_Yoroi Akado_

Naruto watched the fight, Yoroi possessed a dangerous technique, being able to suck out people's chakra with his hands. Making Sasuke having to stick with Taijutsu only, seeing as his chakra was already out of whack. He still managed to overcome his opponent, however Naruto noticed the Konoha Jonin tense upon the sight of the black markings appearing on Sasuke's skin again.

_

* * *

Ino Yamanaka_

_VS._

_Sakura Haruno_

This match was perhaps the most boring so far, the attacks were weak and the fight was mainly spoken, both of the girls did harden their resolves and fought each other, Ino capturing Sakura in her _**Mind Body Switch Technique**_, but Sakura somehow overcome it, and they both attack each other one final time, the match result in a draw.

_'Ino deserved to win.'_ Naruto watched both girls being carried up the stairs by their senseis. Ino had more of a strategy and had managed to capture Sakura, she only escaping through some fluke.

_

* * *

Gaara_

_VS._

_Dosu Kinuta_

This once a match, from Naruto's perspective, this was an execution. Dosu went into the fight confident, ready to test Gaara's sand against his sound. He barely made his first move before sand exploded from the gourd on Gaara's back, weaving it's way to and around Dosu, ensnaring him in a layer of sand.

Naruto turned at the sound of a small whimper, the white puppy had accompanied Kiba turned away from the fight, fleeing to safety inside it's owners coat.

Gaara lifted his hand forwards, and with the simple act of clenching his fist, the sand around Dosu pressed down towards him, blood quirted out of the few holes in the layer. The arena had erupted in a scream of agony. The sand retracted back into Gaara's gourd. Leaving a mangles mess of Dosu's bloody clothes and what little else of what was left of him.

_'A second death.' _Naruto looked over to where Dosu's Jonin sensei was, he didn't appear to show any grief with the loss of his pupil. At this distance, it even appeared that a small smile sat on his face.

_

* * *

Shino Aburame_

_VS._

_Kankuro_

The final match. And Naruto found himself a growing respect for both contestants. Kankuro being able to manoeuvre his opponent in the open area, without any place to hide. And Shino for his extensive use of Trump Cards, and being able to overcome his opponent by clogging the joints of Kankuro's puppets with his bugs, then having them feed on Kankuro's chakra. Making it a win for him.

That was it. The finalist stood in a horizontal line. Waiting for the last match ups to be announced. They all took turns taking one card with a number on it from a box. They were told to call out their number.

Hinata got 5

Sasuke got 7

Mito got 3

Lee got 8

Temari got 1

Gaara got 4

Shino got 9

Shikamaru got 2

and Neji got 6

Hayate proceeded to explain how the finals would be held:

Temari would fight Shikamaru first.

Mito would fight against Gaara next.

Hinata would fight Neji third.

Sasuke would fight Lee after that.

And because of the odd number, Lee would have to fight Shino as an added round. Effectively giving Lee two opportunities of proceeding through.

Lee was ecstatic, bellowing out his gratitude to his youth for blessing him with two fights.

But Naruto was ignoring him. He looked over to Mito, who stood confident. He was worried, it was obvious Gaara was unstable, it showed in his fight with Dosu, the glee on his face as he crushed the boy to death. _'Why of all people did it have to be Mito he was paired with?'_

-Break-

Teihaku walked along the path towards Konoha, he hadn't seen a single person along the road, something must be going on was his only idea.

A small, but incredibly hoarse cough could be heard, it came from under a large shady tree. Teihaku walked over to see what caused the cough. It was a human, but not just any human. Teihaku could recognise that zig-zag hair parting and two red dots for eyebrows anywhere. "Kimimaro. Well, this is surprising."

The boy looked upon, instantly snarling when he made eye contact with Teihaku, a sharp bone came out of his palm, attempting to stand and thrust the bone blade into the heart of Teihaku he collapsed under his own weight, to weak to even move.

Teihaku moved to catch him as he fell. "Are you finally succumbing to your disease?"

"Shut up, traitor." Kimimaro wheezed out. Staring hard through low lidded eyes.

Teihaku ignored the comment. "Is there anything you need?"

Kimimaro let out a quiet chuckle. "Why would you want to help me?"

Teihaku shrugged his shoulders. "Because I have some respect for you, you are surviving an illness, you jutsu is second to none, you willingly stand by Orochimaru's side. I kind of liked you."

Kimimaro smirked. "I need to return to the North base. Orochimaru has asked that I return and I shall, but only to await further instruction. Plus, I promised that I'd pay _him_ a visit soon."

Teihaku smirked in return. "Ah yes, the beast. Is that where this came from." Teihaku pointed to the mark in the centre of Kimimaro's chest. "I'll find out later, for now. Lets get you to the North base."

"_Teihaku."_ A voice called in his head.

"Leader."

"_A change of plans, your mission in Konoha has been postponed. More urgent matters have arose. You are to team up with Deidara and eliminate an Iwa Ninja known as Gari, he is a member of the Iwa Explosion Corps and has been tracking Deidara's movements. Deidara will have some knowledge of him. Leave immediately."_ Pein disconnected the telepathy.

_'Looks like I have no choice.' _Teihaku sighed in his head. Flashing his hand in the ram seal he teleported Kimimaro and himself to the entrance of the North base. Kimimaro looked astounded.

"I placed my marking tags on hidden locations on the entrances of all of Orochimaru-sensei's main bases. You can look for them, but I doubt you will found them."

Kimimaro took a quick look around._ 'He could have assassinated Orochimaru anytime he wanted with this, and now he can be constantly monitoring Orochimaru-sama's movements and experiments. To think that he had planned so far ahead.'_ A surprised Kimimaro turned to Teihaku who had already begun to walk off.

Teihaku gave a quick wave over his shoulder. "Get well Kimimaro, you are one of the few that I wouldn't see die. And say hi to Juugo for me." Teihaku flashed away once again, leaving Kimimaro alone at the entrance of the base.

-Break-

Naruto sat in the recovery room again. Apparently as an extra precaution in case he aggravates his wounds. But he had no wounds, he was just tired.

His mind returned to the final match ups. Mito would be facing off against Gaara in the first match. He saw what happened to that guy who tried to absorb Gaara's chakra, the sand blocked him off and ensnared him, he was crushed to death. And Gaara showed no remorse, no guilt, no pity when he performed the act. It looked like to Gaara killing came as easy breathing.

And Mito wouldn't stand a chance. He should be more encouraging to his sister, but it was obvious to all. Mito had never won a fight by herself since he gave her the summoning contract. Something had happened to her, she used to be confident with her abilities, she wasn't scared of anything, suddenly when she received the summoning contract that all changed. Was it because she knew that Naruto was always there to come save her that she didn't need to improve.

A slight knock on the door snapped Naruto out of his thoughts. The door slid open gently. Speak of the devil, Mito stood there. A smile plastered on her face.

"How you feeling Naru-nii?" She chimed out happily as she entered the room, closing the door behind her.

"Fine." Naruto replied bluntly, did she have any idea of the danger she faced.

Mito continued smiling. "What's with that face? Is it because in a few months I'll be a Chunin just like you. That you won't be the superior one? You know the whole village is supporting me."

"That's a lie." Naruto once again bluntly stated. "You won't pass, if anything you'll probably die."

Mito froze stiff with hurt. How could he even say that?

"No, you won't die." Naruto corrected himself. "You'll most likely cower in fear and then summon me to save your skin."

"H-How could you even say that?" Mito almost shouted, coming close to tears, as her brother, shouldn't he be supporting her no matter what?

"Because you need to hear this. And no one else is going to tell the Yondaime Hokage's daughter she's weak." Naruto stared her right in the eyes, not even blinking, Mito couldn't hold his gaze, shifting her sight to the floor.

"You can't rely on me forever, Mito. Because I won't be around forever." Naruto calmly explained to her. "You must train your mind and your body to overcome the fear that an opponent poses on you and adapt to the battle. Otherwise Gaara will kill you."

"But when you met Gaara you acting as if you had known him from earlier! You spoke to him as a friend, friends don't hurt other friend's families." Mito defended herself, but she knew there was nothing to defend. Everything Naruto spoke of was true.

Naruto eyes shifted to the floor. "I do know Gaara, but that's not the Gaara I know. I'm going to do a little research on him, even if it means spying."

"So then what should I do?" Mito nearly begged for the answer.

"Train." Naruto's eyes returned to meet her stare. "Train like you've never trained before. Seek help from dad, mom or even Jiraiya. Do not walk into that fight unprepared."

-Break-

"But the question is; what is Orochimaru after?" Jiraiya spoke, he sat with Minato and Hiruzen in a small room, it was one of the only true private areas within the tower.

"What ever it is, nothing good will come from Orochimaru being so close to the exams." Sarutobi sighed a disappointed sigh, he had trained Orochimaru, he should have seen the villain in him somewhere.

"I doubt Orochimaru will leave." Minato commented. "If he has given Sasuke the curse seal he wants him for something. And seeing as Sasuke survived it, Orochimaru will want to make sure that Sasuke stays alive and doesn't lose the curse seal."

"But how are we going to find him. The amount of permission we would need to search the travellers and foreign shinobi and Daimyo. By the time we've even got the permission, Orochimaru could be in, got Sasuke, destroyed Konoha ad been back out." Jiraiya looked at both of them with full seriousness.

"Orochimaru will not damage this village in any shape or form." Hiruzen stood up. "He is my responsibility, as his sensei, I shall deal with him."

-Break-

"Red hair, yeah." Deidara looked at the mysterious red haired member approaching him, the Akatsuki cloak and the ring on his finger was enough proof to him that this was the mysterious member of Akatsuki. "What's your name, hn?"

"Teihaku." He replied quickly. "I'm assuming that your Deidara."

"I am, yeah." Deidara smiled. "Let me just say, my art is superior and absolute, hn. So you'll take my orders obediently, yeah." He formed a quick clay sculpture of a sparrow in his hand, molding his chakra into it through the mouth on his hand.

"You're quite annoying. Do you know that?" Teihaku replied without emotion, an eyebrows was risen slightly on his forehead.

Deidara growled in anger, before smiling. "My art is a bang, hn. Remember that. It's the last thing you'll see." He flicked the small sparrow at the red-hair in front of him, it grew several sizes before making contact with the red-hair. "Katsu!" The sparrow exploded, the red-hair was engulfed in an explosion. _'I don't need someone to help me take down Gari anyway. And Pein can always find a replacement for this guy.'_

Cold steel tapped his neck twice gently, Deidara turned to see the red-hair, completely unharmed holding a sword to his neck. Deidara grinned, a dry chuckle leaving his throat. "Looks like you passed my test, yeah. I'll work with you, hn."

"Good." Teihaku retracted the sword from Deidara's neck and retreated it back up his sleeve.

"Well, shall we begin. Our location is quite a bit away, so we'll fly there, hn." Deidara smiled, preparing two clumps of clay to be sculpted.

"No. This guy is tracking you, if he knows your abilities, he'll assume that you will fly, he will be watching the sky more. We walk." Teihaku replied, turning around.

_'This guy may actually be worse than Sasori-danna'_ Deidara narrowed his eyes at the back of Teihaku.

"Describe this Gari, his abilities, you must have some knowledge of him." Teihaku again almost commanded.

Deidara caught up to Teihaku, now standing to his side. " Gari has dark spiky hair, very narrow jaw line. His abilities revolve around the Kekkei Genkai we share, yeah. _**Explosion Release**_, hn. He wields it at it's most basic and most deadly form. Injecting his chakra into his opponent through touch then detonating it within their body, yeah. Don't let him near you, hn. He'll blow you to smithereens."

Teihaku let out a quick chuckle, a dark smirk present on his face. _'_How would my_** Immortal Phoenix Rebirth Technique**__ fair against my entire body being blown to bits. If my body bursts into flame upon the execution of the Jutsu, but what happens if there isn't a body to combust?' _

"What's so funny, hn?" Deidara looked over to the taller red-hair, who everytime Deidara looked at him made him seem oddly familiar.

"This Gari won't be fast enough to touch me, and even if he does he can not kill me. I am immortal who lives in fire. A phoenix that can never die."

* * *

**A/N:** Well how was it. Personally I think it kinda sucked. The whole fights from Naruto's viewing point was sheer laziness, I'll admit. Plus the idea of having to write 10 fights just put me off. I know I should have done them, if only to improve my writing fights skills. But what are you gonna do..

Next chapter. I really don't know. Should I take that February Hiatus, I might take it, and use the time to write some more chapters for each fic, then release them all in one big bundle. Next fic I will be updating is The Tools We Use and Becoming the Legend, because both of their chapters are following the same idea. Initial testing. Plus I want to get to work planning my Fairy Tail/Naruto fic, you know Naruto's magic and what not. I should be updating The Best Years Fly By Quickly as well if I get the time. Seeing as it's become quite a well received fic.

Til Next Time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!


	16. Chapter 13: Motives

**A/N:** Yo! Got this up with three days of February to spare, now I can focus on The Tools We Use without interference, aside from my college work, but that's a story that won't concern you.

Anyway this chapter, meh. I was really looking forward to the Chunin Exams, but the amount of fights has really drained me, now I'm doing everything possible to avoid writing them, also my interest in this story is beginning to fade. I need to hit something enjoyable about it soon, or I will begin to fear the worse, my chapters writing for this will become worse, you guys won't enjoy it as much.

Well, that's about it. See you in however long it takes to finish reading the chapter.

* * *

"So here you are Gari, hn. How you been?" Deidara smiled at the man, who frowned upon the blonde's appearance.

"You will not speak to me Deidara." Gari replied stoically and bluntly. "You have shamed Iwagakure, and your sensei."

"Onoki-sensei." Deidara scoffed loudly. "The old goat of a Tsuchikage is still alive, hn. He only held me back, as did the whole of Iwagakure, never acknowledging or appreciating my art."

"You are wrong, Deidara." Gari replied coldly. "Tsuchikage-sama was preparing you. To receive his Kekkei Tōta; _**Dust Release,**_ the mark of the Tsuchikage."

Deidara's eyes widened in mild surprise, a small gracing his face. "The old bat was planning to make me Yondaime Tsuchikage." He repeated laughingly. "Probably best I didn't get it, yeah. My art never would have prospered under such a heavy title, hn. The old man will find someone new to take his place, but it definitely won't be you, Gari, hn."

Deidara's hand reached into his pocket, the mouth on his hand taking the clay and kneading his chakra within.

But Gari also wasted no time. "_**Explosion Release: Straight Line Thrust!**_" He thrust his fist forwards, out of his fist came a fiery line of explosions.

_'Shit!'_ Deidara dived out the way, he wasn't even half way through sculpting and Gari was already on the attack. _'His attacks are too fast! I don't have enough time to sculpt!'_

He looked around hoping for a distraction, it was then he realised that something, or rather someone was missing. Checking around to confirm it, Deidara felt an anger welling up inside him.

_'Where the hell did Red hair go, yeah!'_

**-Break-**

Mito had once again dragged him along to one of her get together with all of her friends, even Sasuke had been dragged along as well, however he was hardly the life of the party, neither was himself, both sat at the end of the table, glaring hard at the food. _'If they spent half the time training as they did celebrating mundane things, more of them might actually have qualified.'_ Naruto glared down the table, how Mito was the life of the party, speaking proudly of her own abilities. His eyes shifted to the Uchiha, who had been glowering at him for a few minutes now. '_I guess we're thinking the same thing._'

"Naru-nii!" He turned to see Mito, as well as the rest of her rag tag bunch staring at him happily. "Why don't you and Sasuke stop being sourpusses and join in on the celebrations." She smiled happily.

Naruto and Sasuke both looked at the group, then to each other. "You should celebrate while you can, Mito." Naruto spoke, his head slowly turning to face her. "Because starting immediately, I will be training you to fight Gaara."

The group of kids' eyes widened, even Sasuke opened wider than usual. "What can you do to prepare her against Gaara? I've seen what he can do." Kiba spoke first, staring at Naruto hard.

Naruto's face only revealed a smirk, he looked in return at all of them. "I can teach her everything. By the time I'm done, Gaara won't lay a finger on her, but this training Mito, its harder than you'll ever experience. I'll run you into the ground." Naruto stared hard at Mito, who looked slightly afraid.

"You can run me into the ground any day." Ino gave a sly, flirtatious wink towards Naruto, who crinkled his nose slightly.

"How old are you, 12?" He asked in a slightly disgusted tone.

"13 actually." Ino gave him another wink, accompanied by a flirtatious smirk.

"Then act your age." Naruto replied bluntly, stepping out from the table. "The amount of exercise Ninja do a day, and you worry about getting fat. You're just weakening your own body with such unnecessary dieting, stop acting like a spoiled little brat and get over yourself." He looked over his shoulder, deadlocking Ino in the eyes, who appeared utterly hurt by his statement. Naruto shrugged off her hurt look, walking out of the restaurant. Sasuke followed after him soon after, probably realising that he never did have to stay.

The dead silence kicked in. "Burn." Kiba spoke quietly to Ino, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"That may not have been the nicest way to put it, Ino..." Shikamaru rolled out lazily, sighing once. "But as troublesome as it is, he's right. You don't actually need to diet."

"I'm sorry Ino." Mito placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Naruto's not the most sociable of guys. He's been like that for ages, he'll loosen up, believe me." She smiled gently.

The girl gave a small nod of appreciation, but continued to look down in shame, apparently Sakura picked up parts of what Naruto said as well, she herself also staring down.

**-Break-**

Naruto strolled peacefully through the streets, ignoring the waves and greetings from the villagers. _'Now they wish to speak to me.'_ He stared at a few as they walked passed, he just couldn't drop the emotions felt when he saw them.

"Naruto." Someone halted his steps, he turned to see Sasuke Uchiha approaching him calmly.

"Sasuke, what can I do for you?" Naruto sighed out, he didn't really want to speak to anyone at the moment. "Don't you have some friends to celebrate you Final qualification with?"

"I'd rather train and prepare then celebrate, then I won't make a complete fool out of myself when I'm kicked out first round because my opponents did prepare." Sasuke replied quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets, moving into a move laid back posture.

"True words spoken." Naruto replied, he himself moving into a more laid back position. "Now what do you want?"

"Your speed and strength." Sasuke replied. "As much as I hate to say it, you are physically stronger and faster than me. I'd like to know where you learned them. The speed I could guess is genetic, but there must have been help in achieving it."

Naruto stared at him quietly for a few moments. "Kakashi is training you during the month break, correct?" He received a quick nod in return. "Cut that time in half." Naruto continued.

Sasuke's face turned to one of confusion, Naruto cutting him off before he could speak. "Kakashi is a more Ninjutsu oriented shinobi. For speed and strength, I can think of only one. Guy-sensei."

"Guy, that weirdo." Sasuke looked at him, he remembered the green jumpsuit and massive eyebrows, he couldn't help but shudder.

"Guy-sensei is a powerful Taijutsu shinobi, his speed is close to rivalling my father's, he trained me to achieve these heights. His training is harsh, but extremely affective, you've seen how Lee moves." Naruto explained, turning to carry on his way.

"But two of Guy's Genin are in the finals, he'll refuse to train me." Sasuke called out to the departing blond.

"No he won't, Guy never refuses anyone." Naruto called over his shoulder in return. "His mind's a one track horse, just spout something about youth and he'll agree without hesitation." Naruto gave a quick wave over his shoulder, before flickering away in a Shunshin. '_Time to prepare for Mito's training, things are gonna fire up._'

**-Break-**

Deidara jumped out the way of another explosion, sculpting a swarm of spiders, he threw them around the floor at Gari's feet. The detonated quickly, Gari dodged, used an explosion from his hand to propel himself into the air.

Teihaku suddenly appeared behind Gari. "_**Lightning Release: Acupuncture!**_" He jabbed Gari in multiple locations all over his body, the pain was almost unfelt by Gari, in fact it barely felt like a jolt at all.

They both tumbled back to the ground, landing comfortably, Teihaku dived over to stand next to Deidara.

"Where the hell did you go, hn?" Deidara shouted at the Red head. "Making me do all the work!"

"I went looking for an opening." Teihaku replied absent any emotion, he only continued to stare at Gari. "It worked didn't it, he had no clue that I was here."

"If you to are done fighting." Gari called out to them, he charged Teihaku quickly, who pushed Deidara back. "_**Explosion Release: Land Mine Fist!**_" He punched his fist towards Teihaku, expecting an explosion.

And he got one, but not in the position where it was, the explosion erupted around his arm, blowing it up instantly and blowing him backwards. Gari clutched his arm wound tightly. "What happened?" He grunted out in pain.

"I used my _**Lightning Release**_ to interfere with your chakra flow, creating several small gaps in the flow, when you charged the explosion, it didn't cover that gap, considering t the release point, just exploded, I've been watching you fight. Now you can't use any explosions without killing yourself." Teihaku explained, looking at the bloody scene before him like he had seen it before.

Gari stumbled back up to his feet, blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. "This is fine, I don't need them to kill you two, hell I don't even need that arm." Gari smirked confidently, most of it was words, his vision was already beginning to fade.

Gari felt a tight grip around his leg, looking down a white snake had coiled around it. No visible features other than holes for eyes and wagging forked tongue.

"I hope you didn't forget about me, yeah." Deidara smiled, bringing his hand up. "Katsu."

The snake exploded, enveloping Gari's leg in fire, Gari roared out in pain as he flew into the air, crashing down to the ground on his back. Looking down again, his leg had been removed, swallowed by the explosion.

Teihaku and Deidara approached the bleeding man, he struggled to get away, but could only get so far with the energy leaving his body.

"You technique is superior to his, Deidara." Teihaku stared down the man. "Gari's was obvious when he was about to use it, his movements indicated it. But yours, you could hide in the shadows, and send them out as small animals or overhead birds, you can attack from a distance. For that you are superior to him."

Deidara's eyes widened with the most surprise he had had all day. Someone was genuinely appreciating his art, Deidara grinned. "You got good taste in art, Teihaku, yeah. You're not so bad after all."

Teihaku nodded in return. Flicking his arm, his sword extended from his sleeve. He thrust it down through the man's chest. Gari gurgled in pain for a few minutes, before his head dropped backwards, life fading from his eyes. "We've wasted enough time, the explosions would have alerted somebody." Teihaku spoke, drawing his sword back out he wiped the blood off it on the man's clothing, storing his sword back up his sleeve, he turned to leave.

"What do we do with his body, hn?" Deidara asked from next to him, catching up with him quickly.

"Leave it here." Teihaku answered quickly and bluntly, not looking back at all.

"But what about your Lightning technique?" Deidara asked, his chakra was still in Gari's body.

"It will wear off in a few minutes, completely disappearing from his chakra network. Any trace of us as the killers will fade away momentarily." Teihaku explained, he quickly turned to face Deidara. "You go to Pain and report." He ordered, walking away in a new direction.

"And where are you going, hn?" Deidara called to the red head leaving.

Teihaku stopped in his tracks, facing Deidara from over his shoulder. "I have my own task to accomplish." He told him cryptically, before carrying on his way.

**-Break-**

"I really think you should go apologise to Ino for what you said to her." Mito scolded her brother, he had dragged her into an open field, proclaiming that her training was beginning now.

"Why? Did I say something to offend the princess?" Naruto spat out, there was nothing particularly wrong with Ino for him, but the girls his age, they didn't have the right mindset, constantly worrying about their appearances rather than training. 'Well, not all of them.' His mind traced back to Fū, sure she worried about her appearance, but Naruto had caught her several times training furiously. Much harder than he had ever seen even Mito train.

Mito frowned towards her brother. "You know what you said to her. It really hurt her feelings."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll go find her and apologise right now." Naruto spoke sarcastically. "At least then on her headstone it can read; died for being weak of body, but at least her feelings remained intact."

"What the hell's your problem!" Mito shouted, she had never seen her brother like this, he was always calm and collected, however recently, every little thing seemed to set him off.

"Nothing." Naruto replied in a calmer manner. "We shall begin your training now."

"How do you plan to help me beat Gaara anyway?" Mito curiously asked, the former subject they were on forgotten.

Naruto only smirked. "This training isn't just for you." He told her darkly. "I will be training myself as well."

Mito watched in horror as a red shroud enveloped Naruto, leaking out from his body, it formed a perfect shape around him, albeit with long ears, claws and a tail. "Gaara is a Jinchuuriki too, so I will help you by allowing you to adapt to battling a Jinchuuriki."

Naruto suddenly charged her, the sight was frightening, Mito closed her eyes in horror and screamed loudly.

Nothing came, save s quick poke to the forehead, opening her eyes, the red cloak was gone, Naruto staring disappointed at her. "You're dead." He removed his fingers from her forehead, travelling back over to his original position. He quickly turned to face her.

"Again." He called, the red cloak once again beginning to shroud him.

"NO!" Mito screamed in retaliation. "Why do we have to do it again? Just help me with other stuff?"

"We'll continue doing this until you can face me without looking away!" The cloak completely enveloped Naruto once again, he charged towards her at his speed, she could barely follow him. "NOW FIGHT, MITO!"

**-Break-**

"Welcome to Konoha, please enjoy the Chunin Exams." The guards of the gate beamed, ushering the Daimyo and his guards in. Two at the front, two at the left, two at the right and three at the back.

Each covered head to toe, hoods blocking their faces from view.

_'And they only checked the Daimyo's identification.'_ Teihaku smirked, he only stuck a hood up and walked behind them, standing only a few metres away, acting as if he was part of the guard, and he was in without fuss.

Teihaku's smirk grew, as soon as they were out of the gates sight he abandoned the group. Dodging down an alleyway, there he removed the hood. He had abandoned his Akatsuki jacket in a scroll in his pocket. Walking around with that would bring unwanted attention.

_'Infiltration into Konohagakure, complete.'_ Teihaku smirked, entering the busy high street, he blended in perfectly. _'Beginning secondary objective: Locating and Monitoring of the Jinchuuriki.'_

**-Break-**

An unusual beeping resonated from the machine, everyone else had gone for their breaks or were switching shifts for the day.

He calmly approached the map showing all the chakra signatures in the barrier, during the Chunin exams they had been divided further, into foreigners and from what country, indicated by the colour, a marvellous piece of advanced sensor technology, too advanced for himself to fully understand its design.

However, he could read what it showed, the red dots indicated that they were from Konoha, but the machine beeped differently, he tapped on the chakra signature, bringing up information about the person.

He glanced over it, reading the key points.

_'Name – Teihaku Namikaze_

_Age – 7_

_Birthday – February 6th _

_Birth place – Konohagakure_

_Ninja Rank – N/A_'

The man gave a quick scoff. "Stupid machine, definitely a malfunction. He's been dead for 10 years, it's just impossible." The man turned, carrying on his way.

He gave another loud scoff of humour. "The Lost Prince of Konoha returns, the exact same age as when he disappeared." The man chuckled heartily. "And during the Chunin Exams, ha! What next, Shodaime-sama and Niidaime-sama come back from the grave!" The man began laughing loudly. Exiting the room as the new batch of sensors came in for the rounds.

They moved towards the machine to see what had gotten the man in hysterics. They was nothing out of the ordinary, they searched but couldn't find any anomalies on the board.

"He must have been exhausted, his mind playing tricks, just continue with your work." The leader of the new shift ordered, everyone moving to their positions.

The leader glanced at the board one more time. '_He must have been seeing things. But we should still inform the Hokage.'_

_

* * *

_**A/N:** Well, how was it? I'd give it a 6-6.5/10 in my own honest opinion. I feel like it has lost the pizazz it had on **Hair dyed red with blood** chapter, that still continues to be my favourite chapter.

Anyway, we've learned Teihaku's birthday, I was gonna give him my own, but February 10th was already taken, by Suigetsu nonetheless, that really made my day. Other than that nothing major happened.

Naruto's recent anger may be due to a few things, Fu leaving, as he spent a lot of time with her, he considers her a friend, and she knows his struggle as a Jinchuuriki, the fact that Orochimaru had Teihaku all this time, the fact that he is still being continuously lied to about Teihaku's existence, and the fact that Mito is beginning to prove herself as weak in his eyes. We will see this anger a lot more over the coming chapters.

On that topic of next chapter, the February Hiatus I was planning to take, I'm now taking in March, Fairy Tail Utopia has proved to be very popular, a lot more popular than this. And I'm planning a spinoff from it dedicated to Itachi, so I'm taking March to write that spinoff, I want it to be a one shot, but i also want it to be a really good one shot, I think with a months time on one story I could have that done. So I will return in April to this and my other stories, I will probably update this fearlier than the others as it was the last to be updated this time.

Sorry again.

Til next time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!


	17. Chapter 14: Reunion

Teihaku's blue eyes darted around the streets of Konoha, they were large, yet compact, filled with hundreds of pedestrians, however people still seemed to move out of the way for him, as if they feared or respected him.

Everywhere he looked he found females staring at him adoringly, with blushes tinting the cheeks or chattering to their friends while looking at him, followed by a small giggle, it was something he chose to ignore, sighing in annoyance. He had no time for any of them, he continued walking down the streets of Konoha, trying to wrap his mind around this maze of streets that was Konoha.

_'But where do I begin to look for the Jinchuuriki, I have no clue what the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki or Ichibi's Jinchuuriki look like. Would asking a Konoha shinobi just make too much of a scene?'_ Teihaku wondered how to find the Jinchuuriki, he liked to know his targets faces as quickly as possible. He had already seen pictures of the Sandaime Hokage, and Orochimaru, well he certainly knew what he looked like.

_'Wait a minute! That girl...'_ Teihaku's mind clicked, flickering back through his memory to the day he killed Zabuza, that girl he risked his life for, using _**Immortal Phoenix Rebirth Technique**_ for the first time in years, she had a Konoha Headband tied around her neck. _'Perhaps if I can locate her, she may be a valuable source of information.'_

Teihaku smiled deviously, carrying on walking down the streets, trying to find some incentive of where the Jinchuuriki or the girl could be. _'Yes, my best course of action is to track her down.'_

* * *

"We're getting nowhere!" Naruto screamed in frustration at his younger sister. He hadn't bee touched once in the hours of training they had pulled off today, yet Mito was on her knees covered in scratches and dirt, panting weakly yet heavily.

Naruto growled in frustration. "Get up, Mito! You won't survive if you act like this against Gaara!" He charged towards his younger sister, his fist clenched and pulled back.

Mito looked in fear as her brother moved towards her with insane speeds, the look in his eyes shot sheer terror into her heart. She did the only thing she had become accustomed to when she was frightened, she screamed loudly.

It seemed to work, she never felt Naruto's fist connect to her, looking she found that Naruto stood above her, his hair blocking the light to his eyes, giving them the darkest appearance possible. "You scream?" Even his voice was darker. "You're weak, Mito, and that's all you'll ever be if you don't face your problems head on."

Naruto turned away sharply, quick enough to not see the tears begin to roll down his sister's face. He walked away quickly, as if storming off. "We're making no progress today. Come back when your stronger."

"You just don't get it!" Mito tearfully screamed at Naruto's departing back. "I'll never be as naturally strong as you! I'm just not as strong as you!" She cried loudly, choking out breaths whilst tears streamed down her face. Naruto gave no response, just continuing to walk away from her.

Mito didn't want to remain on the cold floor crying for too long, she wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, sniffling the last few tears back before heading towards one of Konoha's parks, the one in the opposite direction of Naruto.

* * *

Mito rushed along the pavement in Konoha's park, stopping at the first available park bench. She slumped her body quickly on it, placing her elbows on her knees and her head in her palms.

She thought about the things that Naruto had said to her today, she had seen him lose his temper at Ino, but she never would have expected to have received the same treatment. The number of times he had called her weak hurt. And there was nothing she could do about it, if she argued back Naruto would have used it to prove his own point or to have more of a reason to keep attacking her.

_'Naruto's just a big jerk!'_ Mito insulted her older brother in her mind, slightly afraid that if she said it out loud Naruto would somehow hear her.

"Hey, blondie. What's up?" Mito's eyes snapped wide at the voice, a familiar voice. Looking up, she found that same red spiky hair from a few weeks ago, the same dark deep eyes like the ocean. However there was something new about this face, his mouth held the smallest of smirks. His black cloak with red clouds had been removed. He stood in a black open torso shirt with long sleeves. He wore black pants with a dark, burnt orange cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees. Around his waist was a black rope, holding the cloth up. The position of his sword had changed as well, no longer up his sleeve the sword was now sheathed behind him, held to his body by the rope. Even his headband had disappeared, his red bangs hanging loosely to cover is forehead.

"T-Teihaku? What are you doing here?" Mito asked in surprise as she gazed at the older re head.

"I'm here to watch the Chunin exams. There's some very special to me who is participating." Teihaku's smile grew a little bigger._ 'After all of his fights, Gaara will be open and exposed. I can pick him off easily whilst starting my other mission and accomplishing my own goals in the process.'_

A blush grew on Mito's face, how Teihaku's smile had grew when he said someone special to him is participating. _'Was he... talking about me?'_ She smiled herself, looking away from the red head. "Thanks, but I'll probably lose right away."

_'Why is she thanking me?'_ Teihaku looked down with confusion at the blond girl. "Why are you so sure you'll lose?"

"My first match in the second round of the Chunin Exam is against Gaara. There's no way I'll be able to defeat him." Mito moped again, sighing loudly as she placed her chin back into her hands.

"What's so special about him?" Teihaku asked quizzically, allowing himself to play the fool. But inwardly he was beaming. _'Perfect, she can practically do my job for me, and it will arouse less suspicion than me attacking Gaara.'_

"He's a Jinchuuriki. So he's really strong." Mito replied, her confidence flattened by the conversation.

"Well what training are you doing to help improve yourself for the match?" Teihaku asked, delving even further. _'I may have to train her myself to make sure she can fight the Jinchuuriki.'_

"I'm working with my brother, but he knows nothing about defeating a Jinchuuriki, he only thinks he does because of his own status." Mito replied, gritting her words in her teeth. Suddenly her head shot up, her eyes widening as her mind clicked. "Wait a minute, something Zabuza said!" She remembered the words of the fallen demon. She turned to the red head with wide fearful eyes. "H-He said that you assassinated the Fourth Mizukage, I did some research on him when I got back to Konoha and found that he was feared as a ruthless tyrant, but he was also a Jinchuuriki. Is it true? Did you kill him?"

"I did." Teihaku replied bluntly, unfazed by the question. Mito took a couple of steps away from him, relinquishing her park bench as she moved away from the red head.

"Then why are you walking around like nothing happened? Aren't you being hunted by Kirigakure or something?" She stuttered out, looking in absolute fear of the teenager in front of her, this guy, he could kill a Jinchuuriki.

Teihaku shook his head slowly. "My identity remains unconfirmed, I killed one of the five Kage leaders and got away freely. However it is imperative that my identity as his assassin REMAINS a secret, so I must ask that you keep it to yourself."

Mito's gaze hardened at his words, he wasn't begging, it even sounded more like an order, to be quite honest she knew that he probably wouldn't beg, he'd probably just kill her as well if she planned to tell anyone. But Mito wasn't stupid, Teihaku could kill a Kage-level Jinchuuriki, and she needed to survive against a Genin-level Jinchuuriki at the least. She would need more help than she was already getting. "Fine, I'll keep it a secret, but you've got to help me train for my match against Gaara." Mito's response was also like a command issued to the red head.

She wasn't surprised when Teihaku's eyebrow rose in amusement at her command. "I don't want to kill Gaara, at the very least I just want to survive against him. He kills without hesitation. I want to make sure I can stay alive when I fight him."

"Deal." Teihaku responded quickly to Mito's utmost surprise. "But we need somewhere, peaceful, quiet and private where we won't be interrupted."

"I know a place!" Mito spoke with excitement, to be trained by Teihaku, from what she had seen he had incredible speed, strength and stamina when he fought against Zabuza and then all of Gatō's bodyguards, but who knows what else he was hiding. "Just follow me!" She grabbed hold of his arm, pulling him along the pavement to his surprise, after regaining himself, Teihaku snatched his arm back off the girl. "What happened to that cool cloak and your headband anyway, Teihaku?"

"I took them off. It would bring too much attention to myself to be walking around a busy place like this in them." Teihaku responded dully, looking straight ahead down the path way.

"Yes, I understand," Mito nodded her head, remembering his earlier words about keeping his identity secret. "No one could walk around a large village like Konoha and not be detected."

* * *

Naruto sat atop the Hokage moment, one of of the spikes of hair of his father's face. He stared hard at the busy village below, among those ants was his sister, the current issue on his mind.

"_Get up Mito and fight!"_

"_Gaara won't hold back, no shinobi will if you show a weakness!"_

"_You're weak, Mito, and that's all you'll ever be if you don't face your problems head on."_

Naruto sighed loudly, attempting to expel his earlier words to his younger sister out of his memory. _'Perhaps I was too harsh, but I'm worried for her. Worried that she won't survive her match against Gaara. I saw how ruthless he was, she won't get any mercy from him.'_

Naruto's head was pulled back, he stared up at the clouds over head. _'If I could only talk to him again, I could ask what has happened to him, I could attempt to change him back to how he was.'_

Gaara was a Jinchuuriki just like himself, and the son of a Kage, just like himself. But he must have experienced something terrible in order to change him to what he has become, Gaara's sister mentioned an assassination attempt by his Uncle, the only person to look past his Jinchuuriki status. Perhaps that was what Gaara needed, someone to look past the monster he has become and see what he is truly like.

_'Fū, what would you do?'_ Naruto's mind remembered the lime green haired girl. Although he wouldn't say it out loud, Fū had changed him, she had showed him genuine kindness, not kindness brought on by his family. She cared for him, and was the closest person to him for a long time. _'Fū, in complete honesty... I miss you, your company. With you here, you could probably help change Gaara...'_

* * *

"Try again." Teihaku commanded, Mito nodded, although panting went through the same series of hand seals again.

"_**Earth Release: Earth And Stone Dragon!**_" Mito cried out again, but however, nothing happened again. Mito dropped her stance, placed her hands on her knees, she was exhausted and she hadn't made any progress through out both of the training sessions she had had today. _'Maybe I am weak, I have no aptitude for Ninjutsu.'_

"I thought that we were fortunate when you said your primary nature was Earth, because my secondary nature is also Earth. But it appears we are getting nowhere fast. Perhaps we should pick this up another day, or at least start you off on a lower level technique." Teihaku approached her, standing above her with one hand resting on his hip, the other lazily dangling at his side.

_'He's not scolding or shouting!'_ Mito thought with surprise, Teihaku was handling her failure a lot better than Naruto, instead of going off in a rage he was planning further ahead, to morph her training around her current abilities and planning to improve them.

"Perhaps there's something we need to unlock? Tell me, do you have a Kekkei Genkai of any kind?" Teihaku asked in interest.

"Yeah, my mom has one and she did some test to it showed that I had it as well, but I'm failing with my training for that as well." Mito replied downheartedly, she couldn't do anything right.

Her thoughts were stopped when Teihaku placed a hand on her head. "What are you doing?" She asked in confusion.

"My sensei was something of a scientist, he liked to play with the human body and it's functions, going right down to it's DNA and genes. He taught me a Jutsu to unlock any genes possessing potential Kekkei Genkai, even it has already begun to surface, this Jutsu will unlock it's full potential." Teihaku closed his eyes for concentration, he inhaled deeply. _**'Automatic Gene Seal Release!'**_

Mito felt a wave of power flow through her, Teihaku took a few steps away from her moments before chains of chakra, a bright silver in colour burst in every direction of her body, some just barely missing Teihaku. _'Chakra Chains? She has the same technique as me? That's impossible...'_ Teihaku looked upon the blond girl with wonder, the Chains slowly began retracting into her body until they had completely dispersed, Mito looked at him with a new determination, smirking confidently, ready for more training.

"It would appear we are even more fortunate than before..." Teihaku responded to her display, holding up his hand, a chakra chain shot from his hand, this chain was a deep blood red. _'The colour must change depending on the colour of the user's chakra...' _Teihaku thought, ignoring the girl's shocked look, he retracted the chakra chain back into his hand. "It appears we share the same technique. I can offer you the ability to control these chains. These Chains of Chakra are the most effective when dealing with Jinchuuriki and Tailed Beasts, they are impossible to break. But first you must have a body to use them correctly, so we will spend some time building up your speed and strength."

Mito beamed wildly, chuckling whilst doing so. "Wow, you're really into this training, huh Teihaku-nii?" He face suddenly fell, her eyes going wide. "I-I'm sorry!" She apologised, instantly, she didn't know why she called him Teihaku-nii, it was just something about the way he was acting, like an aloof, yet caring older brother.

Teihaku's eyes widened as well, pain rushed through his head. He dropped to his knees, clutching his head in agony.

He could see something, a blurry image in the back of his mind, like staring through a frosted window. It was him, yet much younger, in his arms was a blond baby, bundled in wrappings. He couldn't see his own facial expression.

Suddenly the image was gone, as was the pain. He breathed heavily, feeling a hand on his back he looked up, Mito was next to him, concern in her eyes. "Are you alright? You just suddenly fell to the floor in pain?"

"I'm fine..." Teihaku responded, he would ignore that experience for now, it wasn't important at this moment in time. Raising himself slowly back to his feet before he turned to Mito. "Rest for today, tomorrow we will pick up on a new regime."

"Okay!" Mito grinned madly. "Say Teihaku, you want to come over to my house for dinner? You're really helping me out a lot even though you don't really have to, it's the least I can do."

"I'll have to decline." Teihaku replied apathetically, gone was any stress or pain in his voice. "I doubt you're parents would appreciate me coming round with such short notice."

Mito shrugged her shoulders, her lip jutted out in a lack of interest. "Meh, my mom's pretty cheery when it comes to meeting new people, and my dad's the Hokage so I doubt they will really care, it's only my brother you might have a problem with."

_'The Hokage?'_ Teihaku laughed inwardly at the amusing turn of events, he was helping the daughter of the man he plans to kill. _'It's best that I keep my distance from the Hokage for now.' _Teihaku decided in his mind. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline, also I think it's best you not mention our meetings and training to anyone. Your new strength will come as a total surprise to everyone that way, you will be totally unpredictable, giving you a massive advantage. No one will realise your full strength at the end of the month." Teihaku explained, covering up all his tracks.

"That makes sense!" Mito grinned in anticipation, she couldn't wait until this month of training was over, then she would show the world who was really weak and who wasn't!

Teihaku smirked in return to her grin. "Excellent, then tomorrow we begin..."

* * *

**A/N:** Yo! Rinne here, after five months I've finally updated! Gotta honestly say I enjoyed a good amount of this chapter, even if the chapter is a little short in total. I had experienced a massive writer's block and this also came across as difficult to write due to the general lack of interest it seems to have with the readers, especially compared to my other fics.

I'm considering doing a one month time skip next chapter, heading straight for the matches instead of wasting a few chapters of Mito training and Naruto doing nothing. I hate training chapter and I can only assume a lot of you do as well.

However I am also considering discontinuing this, along with The Tools We Use and To Become A Master, TTWU because I don't like how I've set the story and TBAM because the most reviews I've had for a chapter was when I didn't update for four months, and I don't want to have to wait four months to upload a chapter in order to get a good number of reviews, and this fic, well it's never had a good review count being it's best for Chapter 16, and that was over five months, my favourite chapter in this fic hasn't even got one review, now I'm not usually to bothered about review counts, but it feels like it has become a chore to write this fic, and if no one is enjoying it enough to leave feedback, well then why the hell ami I continuing writing it?

Anyways, while I decide this fic's fate. I shall update Becoming The Legend and hopefully Fairy Tail Utopia:Embrace The Light as well as To Become A Master if I don't decide to discontinue it after I see the rview count for the latest chapter

If There Is A Next Time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!


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